Authors
Shaminder started off his career as a freelance journalist for a consulting and research firm. He has been a Political Strategist and Media Manager. Before joining Newschecker, he worked with various reputed media agencies like Daily Post India, PTC News.
Claim:
A Facebook user shared a video of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson claiming that some news reporters visited the British Prime Minister after he recovered from his illness. The user also mentioned that his home looks like an old abandoned military hut with very old brick walls.
Verification:
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on May 6, returned to the House of Commons after he was tested positive for coronavirus. Boris Johnson had been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus on March 26 and was admitted to the hospital ten days later.
Meanwhile, a video of PM Boris Johnson is doing rounds on social media claiming that news reporters visited the PM after he recovered from his illness.
The caption of the viral video reads, “Some reporters visited the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson after he recovered from his illness. His home looks like an old abandoned military hut with very old brick walls. The road is narrow and not tiled. Just like ordinary people, he is living in a narrow lane. The living room was too small so brought out the tea tray for the reporters. All the cups are different. He met them with disheveled hair and casual clothes, but with the confident smile of a Prime Minister,”
We discovered that the video is being widely shared on Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp. Several readers sent the viral video to Newschecker’s WhatsApp helpline number for verification.
Fact Check:
As we began fact-checking the viral claim, we observed the video and found British PM Boris Johnson offering tea to the news reporters who visited him. Now, with the help of relevant keywords, we performed Google search and found the video on the official YouTube channel of The Telegraph, uploaded on August 13, 2018. We analyzed the viral video, and the video uploaded on the YouTube frame to frame and established that it is the same video.
The description of the video reads, “Boris Johnson refuses to make any comment about the row over comments he made about the burka in his Telegraph column last week, as he offers tea to reporters waiting outside his home.”
Google search also led us to another media report published by ‘The Hill’ on August 13, 2018. The headline of the report reads, ‘UK’s Boris Johnson gives reporters tea while avoiding questions about anti-burqa comments.’
UK’s Boris Johnson gives reporters tea while avoiding questions about anti-burqa comments
Former U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Sunday brought tea to reporters while avoiding their questions about his recent anti-burqa comments. A video on BBC’s website shows Johnson, wearing a sweatshirt, carrying a tray with cups of tea, milk and sugar and offering it to reporters outside his Oxfordshire home.
We found that several global media outlets published the video mentioning the same details. A report by BBC News stated that Boris Johnson declined to comment after being asked whether he would apologize for comparing Muslim women wearing the burka to letterboxes and bank robbers’.
We now checked whether Boris Johnson was UK’s Prime Minister in the year 2018 as being claimed by several social media users. According to Wikipedia, Boris Johnson served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since 2019, whereas he served as Foreign Secretary from 2016 to 2018 and Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016. Johnson was Member of Parliament for Henley from 2001 to 2008 and has been MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip since 2015.
Conclusion:
It is evident from our fact check that the video of UK’s PM Boris Johnson doing rounds on social media is from 2018 when he was not even Prime Minister at that time and has nothing to do with him inviting news reporters over after recovering from the Coronavirus.
Tools Used
- Google Search
- YouTube Search
- Media reports
- Wikipedia
Result: Misleading
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Authors
Shaminder started off his career as a freelance journalist for a consulting and research firm. He has been a Political Strategist and Media Manager. Before joining Newschecker, he worked with various reputed media agencies like Daily Post India, PTC News.
