Authors
Video of a man evidently distressed and talking about the COVID-19 pandemic and burdened healthcare system in India is being attributed to Aaj Tak’s anchor Rohit Sardana.
It’s being claimed that this video is Sardana’s last before he succumbed to a heart attack. He’d recently tested positive for COVID-19.
In the four-minute video, the man can be heard saying, “The harm on humanity we can see today will change..must change. I haven’t seen this India transform into a pile of dead bodies like this before. We’ve never been this helpless. As a country, as humans, as a democracy, we’ve proved to be useless, corrupt and barbaric…We’re all in the hope of a super power to help us. It feels like there is no government here, no prime minister, no system, no bureaucracy, and everyone has been left to fend for themselves. Before today, I’ve never seen doctors wail and cry this way in the last 40-50 years. Speak to any doctor today, and they’ll tell you how much they dislike their profession today. They’ve never seen their patients die due to lack of oxygen this way before. And trust me..I feel like our doctors are going to suffer from terrible mental health in the future. The number of deaths they are witnessing and feeling so helpless, after this the trauma they’ll go through, you and I will never know. This nation has been turned into a living hell and we are left to feel like we mean nothing. This will pass, and when it does I’m not sure if I’ll be around. I don’t know if Dr Manish or Dr Sonu will be around, but those who will live might think this nation should be better. They’ll think that for our future generations we must rise above fighting about mandirs and masjids. They must think what this country needs is not temples, churches, shrines, but good hospitals, schools, medical colleges, doctors, paramedic staff, medicines, and ventilators. Why isn’t it possible that the wealth from temples be transferred for medical purposes? Why isn’t it possible that all masjids be converted into hospitals? Why isn’t it possible that no temple is constructed until a 100-bed hospital or school is built along with it? You’ll have to think.”
Newschecker received this claim and video on its Whatsapp tip line (9999499044)for verification.
The claim and video was also shared on social media platforms. A few examples can be seen below.
The claim shared on Facebook can be viewed here.
Fact Check / Verification
Taking cue from the logo (Do Bol) on the top-right corner of the video and a relevant keyword search we found the viral video uploaded by a verified Youtube channel named “Do Bol” on 26 April 2021.
It’s titled, “मौत के मुंह से बाहर आये पत्रकार naveen kumar ने रोते रोते बयान किया देश का दर्द,” which roughly translates to, “Journalist naveen kumar, who came out of the mouth of death, wept about the nation”.
We also found the viral video to be part of a longer 34-minute video on a Facebook page called Article 19 India. Published on 26 April, the video was shared with a caption that reads, “A talk with Dr.Manish Jangra RMLH Founder FAIMA Doctors Association and Dr Sonu Kumar Bhardwaj LHMC on India’s health condition & VIP Culture In Hospitals.” The man begins by identifying himself as Naveen Kumar in the video.
Additionally, on comparing Kumar’s photograph (Left) from the viral video with that of Sardana (Right), it’s evident they bear no resemblance.
Boom spoke to Dr Sonu Kumar Bhardwaj, a good friend of Kumar who said, “Yes, we know his video is going viral with false claims. The video was recorded by my friend Navin Kumar and in fact I am one of the doctor’s he’s interviewing in the video. He is currently stable but in the ICU. I would request people to not share the video with any fake news around it.”
Conclusion
Journalist Naveen Kumar’s video on India’s second COVID-19 wave and the distressed healthcare system was falsely attributed to Aaj Tak’s anchor Rohit Sardana.
Result: Misleading
Our Sources
Do Bol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk-v-sVN_j8
Article 19 India: https://www.facebook.com/article19india/videos/307641514084157/
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