It’s election season and as on cue, social media and messaging platforms are seeing a spike in misinformation surrounding politics and polls. And with the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar, fact checkers have had their hands full this week. From an old video of voting fraud falsely linked to Gujarat polls, to fake news of Saudi football players being awarded Rolls Royce by crown prince MBS, here are top 5 debunks from the past week:
Video Of Voting Fraud During West Bengal Civic Election Falsely Linked To Gujarat Polls
A video showing what appears to be a voting fraud in a polling booth has gone viral on social media and Whatsapp with several users claiming it to be from the ongoing Gujarat assembly elections. According to a Twitter post in Gujarati, the video is from Surat’s Varachha. Newschecker found the claim to be untrue. The viral video claiming voting fraud in the ongoing Gujarat assembly elections is actually from West Bengal civic elections in February 2022. Read more here.
Saudi Team Denies Reports Of Being Awarded Rolls Royce By MBS
The FIFA World Cup 2022 has seen a lot of misinformation cropping around it. One such instance of fake news, was also picked up by mainstream media and shared widely by credible media outlets- one regarding a gift of Rolls Royce Phantom to each player of the Saudi team by a pleased crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Newschecker’s investigation revealed that an unsubstantiated social media post claiming that each member of the Saudi football team will be awarded with a Rolls Royce Phantom, was picked up and widely reported by mainstream media outlets. Read more here.
Viral Video Showing Kejriwal Chants At PM Modi’s Road Show Is Edited
A 25 second clip, allegedly from the PM’s Surat rally, which shows the crowd purportedly raising pro-Kejriwal slogans, is going viral on social media platforms. Members of the AAP, which is touting itself as a synonym to ‘Parivartan’ in Gujarat, were among several Twitter users who shared the video claiming to show the wind of change in the state. Newschecker found that the viral footage of the PM waving, while “Kejriwal-Kejriwal” chants can be heard, is digitally modified to add the pro-Kejriwal chants. Read more here.
No, Jio Did Not Take A Dig At Journalist Nidhi Razdan Over ‘Unpaid Bill’
A widely circulated image alleged that JioCare took a dig at senior journalist Nidhi Razdan over non-payment of bill in response to her tweet complaining about their services. “Hi Nidhi, we checked the details and found you haven’t paid your bill. Just because it’s Delhi, not everything is Free,” read the alleged tweet by JioCare in response to Razdan’s tweet. Newschecker found that a screengrab of Razdan’s tweet and user @saffpanther’s reply has been digitally edited to give an impression that the Jio actually schooled the journalist over non-payment of bill. Read more here.
FIFA World Cup 2022: Japan Left Dressing Room In Utter Mess After Costa Rica Defeat? Here’s The Truth Behind Viral images
The recent group stage clash between Japan and Costa Rica at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which ended in an unexpected win for the latter, led to a set of photos being widely circulated on social media, claimed to be the Japanese team’s dressing room post the match. The messy room has evoked reactions of surprise across social media, especially considering the reputation of the Japanese team and its fans to clean the locker rooms and the stands post their matches. Newschecker found the claim to be untrue. Read more here.
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