Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Ruby leads editorial, operations and initiatives at Newschecker. In her former avatar at New Delhi Television (NDTV), India’s leading national news network, she was a news anchor, supervising producer and senior output editor. Her over a decade-long career encompasses ground-breaking reportage from conflict zones and reporting on terror incidents, election campaigns, and gender issues. Ruby is an Emmy-nominated producer and has handled both local and international assignments, including the coverage of Arab Spring in 2011, the US Presidential elections in 2016, and ground reportage on the Kashmir issue since 2009.
Claim
Nobel laureate Claudia Goldin claims that Amartya Sen is dead.
Archive version of the tweet can be seen here.
The claim was also picked up and reported by several publications such as Midday, Deccan Herald, Firstpost among others.
Also Read: Israel Faking Deaths Of Civilians On Camera? No, Viral Video Is From Making Of Palestinian Film
Fact
Newschecker found a tweet by journalist Seema Chisti, in response to the original tweet where she called out the news as fake.
We further analysed the X account that claims to be that of Nobel laureate Claudia Goldin and found that the profile was an imposter account and was falsely claiming to be Prof Goldin.
We found a tweet posted on the profile owning up to be an imposter.
The account has been active only since May 2023, whereas the real X profile of Prof Goldin has been in use since November 2013.
The correct account was also tagged by Princeton University press, in their tweet congratulating Prof Goldin.
We further reached out to Pratichi trust – where Amartya Sen and his daughter Antara Sen serve as trustees to verify the information. Soumik Mukherjee, administrative officer of the trust said, “I spoke to the elder daughter of Prof Sen who is in the US, She confirmed that the news is false and that Prof Sen is absolutely fine.”
Speaking to Newschecker, Amartya Sen’s elder daughter Antara Sen also confirmed that it is fake. “Prof Sen is fine. I’m with him in Cambridge. Don’t worry. This is fake news,” she said.
His daughter Nandana Sen also took to social media to plug the rumours tweeting, “Friends, thanks for your concern but it’s fake news: Baba is totally fine. We just spent a wonderful week together w/ family in Cambridge—his hug as strong as always last night when we said bye! He is teaching 2 courses a week at Harvard, working on his gender book—busy as ever!”
Result: False
Our Sources
Conversation with Antara Sen, daughter of Prof Amartya Sen
Conversation with Soumik Mukherjee, administrative officer, Pratichi trust
Tweet by Nandana Sen, dated October 10, 2023
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Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Ruby leads editorial, operations and initiatives at Newschecker. In her former avatar at New Delhi Television (NDTV), India’s leading national news network, she was a news anchor, supervising producer and senior output editor. Her over a decade-long career encompasses ground-breaking reportage from conflict zones and reporting on terror incidents, election campaigns, and gender issues. Ruby is an Emmy-nominated producer and has handled both local and international assignments, including the coverage of Arab Spring in 2011, the US Presidential elections in 2016, and ground reportage on the Kashmir issue since 2009.
