Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Claim
China-run Global Times predicts BJP to win 430 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats in the ongoing general elections.
Fact
No such survey or poll held by the state-run media outlet, speculative figure given by an expert to the publication shared out of context.
Several social media users are claiming that China’s national English-language newspaper, Global Times, has predicted a landslide victory of 430 seats for the BJP in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections for 543 constituencies, the results of which will be announced on June 4.
The archived version of the tweet can be seen here. We received this claim on our Whatsapp tipline (9999499044), too, requesting us to fact-check it.
Fact Check
Newschecker first ran a keyword search for “Global Times poll 430 seats BJP”, which did not throw up any credible news reports about such a survey by the publication.
However, upon a keyword search for “BJP 430” on the Global Times website, we came across this May 13, 2024 report, headlined, “Jaishankar stirs controversy with border patrol remarks; experts warn of sovereignty infringement”. The article spoke about how external affairs minister S Jaishankar reiterated India’s desire for a resolution of remaining issues with China in a recent interview, highlighting that normal bilateral ties depend on peace and tranquillity at the border.
While [PM Narendra] Modi downplays the Chinese-Indian border issue, Jaishankar adopts a tougher stance, indicating that the softening of Modi’s attitude may be only for the sake of domestic elections, Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow with the Institute of International Relations at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
“According to the expert, in order to secure 430 seats before the elections, Modi may try easing Chinese-Indian relations to woo a group of swing voters,” read the report, which shows that the viral 430 figure was just a speculative number given by one expert, while talking about the Chinese-Indian border issue and its probable influence on the general elections. We did not come across any survey nor opinion poll conducted by the Global Times on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The same figure was highlighted in a Global Times tweet, sharing the article, dated May 13, 2024.
We reached out to Global Times regarding the claim and will update this article once we receive a response.
Also Read: Centre Providing Free Wi-Fi At Your Homes? No, Viral Claim Is False
Conclusion
Speculative figure given by Shanghai-based expert to Global Times falsely shared as state-run Chinese media outlet’s predicted tally for BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Result: Missing Context
Source
Global Times report, May 13, 2024
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
