Authors
An Electronics & Communication engineer by training, Arjun switched to journalism to follow his passion. After completing a diploma in Broadcast Journalism at the India Today Media Institute, he has been debunking mis/disinformation for over three years. His areas of interest are politics and social media. Before joining Newschecker, he was working with the India Today Fact Check team.
A video of a man identified as ‘Dr Bajaj’, the former head of the Cardiology dept. in Batra hospital, demonstrating a set of hand exercises that will allegedly help one stay fit and healthy ‘tip to toe’, is being widely shared on social media.
A Twitter user UdthaBollywood (@BanCheneProduct) shared multiple videos of the man who is seen striking, rubbing and punching his hands in different ways. The man performing these exercises claims that they can be done anytime & anywhere and would be beneficial for improving blood circulation, digestion, and mood enhancement among others.
The caption of the video reads, “this is Dr. Bajaj. MD, DM. Earlier Head of #Cardiology in #BatraHospital. He suggests just a 7 minutes exercise every day as shown in this Vedio and you can stay fit & healthy from tip to toe.” The post is viral on Facebook and Twitter.
Fact Check/Verification
On skimming through the comment section of the video, we noticed a comment by a user pointing out that the man in the video was not Dr Bajaj but an entrepreneur from Chennai named Mr Prakash. The user also shared a YouTube link of the same video uploaded by a channel ‘seechangeprakash’ on April 5, 2020.
We carefully analysed the YouTube video, but found no mention of the man demonstrating the exercises to be a doctor. On further conducting a keyword search for ‘seechangeprakash’ on Google, we were led to seechangeworld.in, a management consulting website.
As per the website, the man seen in the viral video, S. Prakash, is the co-founder and CEO of the consulting firm ‘See change world’. His profile available on seechangeworld.in mentions Prakash as a strategic thinker & turnaround specialist.
Newschecker further reached out to S. Prakash regarding the viral video. Prakash confirmed that he was the one featured in the viral video, and not Dr Bajaj. Prakash clarified that he is not a doctor but a management trainer, and that the video has been in circulation with the false claim since 2020.
We also found a cardiologist named Dr Rajiv Bajaj working with Batra Hospital, Delhi. On contacting Dr Bajaj, we were informed that the person seen in the video was somebody else, and not him. On the question, whether the claim made by the man in the viral video is true, Dr Bajaj said that he was yet to see the video properly.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that the man suggesting hand exercises for health benefits is not a doctor. However, we could not confirm whether the hand exercises demonstrated in the video are indeed beneficial to health or not.
Rating: False
Our Sources
YouTube video, uploaded by ‘seechangeprakash’ on April 5, 2020
Quote of S Prakash, CEO See Change
Quote of Dr Rajiv Bajaj, Cardiologist, Batra Hospital, Delhi
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Authors
An Electronics & Communication engineer by training, Arjun switched to journalism to follow his passion. After completing a diploma in Broadcast Journalism at the India Today Media Institute, he has been debunking mis/disinformation for over three years. His areas of interest are politics and social media. Before joining Newschecker, he was working with the India Today Fact Check team.
