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.
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.
Claim
BJP’s Tamil Nadu president and Coimbatore candidate for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls K Annamalai stealthily bribing a voter who is performing an aarti.
The archived version of the tweet can be seen here.
Fact Check
Newschecker saw that one of the users who shared the video had also tagged the Coimbatore Collector, flagging the alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct, which came into effect on March 16, 2024.
In response, the collector tweeted on March 29, 2024, that the claim was false, and that a police inquiry found the video to be from July 2023 and hence did not fall in the purview of the election code.
Annamalai, too, had responded to the complaint, stating that the video was shot on 29.07.2023, during the “En Mann En Makkal Yatra” in Ramanathapuram District.
Newschecker ran a reverse image search of keyframes of the video, which led us to this Youtube video, dated July 30, 2023, further confirming that it was taken well before the election dates were announced. “Annamalai gave money under the plate without asking for aarti! See for yourself,” read the headline, translated from Tamil.
We also came across this New Indian Express report, dated March 30, 2024, stating that the video, where Annamalai was seen giving money to a woman who performed an ‘aarti’ for him, was old.
Result: False
Source
Youtube video, Daily Focus Tamil, July 30, 2023
Tweet, District Collector, Coimbatore, March 29, 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.
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.
