Authors
Vaibhav is a part of Newschecker’s English team, where he spots and debunks all kinds of misinformation, making the rounds on the internet. A Journalism graduate from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, he holds an M.A degree in Philosophy and an M.Phil from Delhi University.
With the much anticipated phase 4 of the assembly elections underway in Uttar Pradesh, social media has become a hotbed for political misinformation. One such video of SP leader Akhilesh Yadav allegedly claiming in an interview that he is leaving for London on 11th March as he has no chance of winning in the UP assembly elections is being widely shared on social media. The final results of the UP Elections are to be announced on the 10th of March.
This video has been shared on Twitter by user RathoreFlix who also has a popular following on Instagram. The video has garnered around 850 views and 49 likes with the caption ‘Akhilesh going to london due to fear of defeat in elections. #UttarPradeshElections2022 #Akhilesh_Yadav #YogiWillBeBack #Yogidobara #SamajwadiParty #BJP #BJPWinningUP #YogiJiOnceAgain‘.
The same claim has been shared on his Instagram account as well which has got around 2,300 likes on the platform.
Newschecker found similar claims on Twitter with the caption ‘So @yadavakhilesh has confirmed that he has no chance in 2022, hence he is going to London on next day of election results. But friends, don’t get trapped on this. Keep working to make @BJP4UP win with much bigger victory margin. Don’t relax in next 4 rounds.’
In the video, during a television interview the interviewer is heard asking Akhilesh Yadav, “It is being said that you are going to London on 11th?” In reply, Akhilesh Yadav responded by saying, “Why can’t I go to London.”
Factcheck/ Verification
To verify the authenticity of the video, Newschecker conducted a reverse image search of the key-frames of the video on Google and found a longer version of the interview on the NDTV India Youtube channel uploaded on 23rd June, 2021.
In an exclusive interview given by Akhilesh Yadav to NDTV, around the 10 minute mark, the relevant portion of the video has been used in the viral video. The topic of conversation in the video is regarding Covid-19 situation in UP and the farmer’s agitation. The interviewer is seen asking Akhilesh Yadav “People are alleging that in the middle of this crisis you had gone to London”. Akhilesh Yadav then clarified that he had gone to London to get his daughter admitted to college.
There is no mention of Akhilesh Yadav going to London on the 11th of March. It is clear from this video that the viral video in question has been overlaid with another audio pretending to mimic the interviewer and edited responses of Akhilesh Yadav have been used to make it seem like Akhilesh Yadav is indeed travelling to London on 11th March.
During the investigation, the Newschecker team also spoke to SP spokesperson Vandana Singh, who told us, “There is no such thing as Akhilesh Yadav accepting defeat and leaving the country on March 11 and going abroad. This claim being made about Akhilesh Yadav is baseless. It has nothing to do with reality.”
Conclusion
Our investigation proves that the viral video claiming that Akhilesh Yadav is going to London after accepting defeat is edited.
Result: Manipulated Media/Altered Video
Our Sources
SP Spokesperson
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Authors
Vaibhav is a part of Newschecker’s English team, where he spots and debunks all kinds of misinformation, making the rounds on the internet. A Journalism graduate from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, he holds an M.A degree in Philosophy and an M.Phil from Delhi University.
