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
News report of Arvind Kejriwal’s ‘arrest’ for rape when he was a student at IIT-Kharagpur in 1987.
Fact
Fake newspaper clipping generated by online tool.
Several social media users are circulating what appears to be an old newspaper clipping, dated June 8, 1987, purportedly stating that an IIT student, a then 19-year-old Arvind Kejriwal, was accused of rape. The Delhi chief minister, currently in judicial custody till April 15, was arrested by the ED last month in the alleged liquor policy scam case.
The archived version of the tweet can be seen here. We received this claim on our Whatsapp tipline (9999499044), too, requesting us to fact-check it.
Fact Check
Newschecker first ran a keyword search for “Arvind Kejriwal rape case IIT”, which did not throw up any credible news reports of such a case.
Newschecker noticed that the masthead of the newspaper appeared to spell out “The Telegraph”, following which we ran a relevant keyword search for such an article, which, again, did not throw up any reports or copies of such an edition.
An image search led us to fodey.com, an online newspaper clipping generator, where after you input required details, you can generate a newspaper clipping.
This was what we got after we entered the text from the viral clipping in the specified fields of the online tool.
A comparison of the generated newspaper clipping (left) with the viral image (right) confirms it was digitally created and not an authentic report.
Also Read: Video Showing DMK Leader Distributing Gifts As Part of New Year Celebrations Falsely Linked To Polls
Conclusion
A fake newspaper clipping generated using an online tool has gone viral with the false claim that Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested for rape when he was a student at IIT.
Result: False
Sources
Image analysis
Fodey.com, online newspaper clipping generator
If you would like us to fact-check a claim, give feedback or lodge a complaint, WhatsApp us at 9999499044 or email us at checkthis@newschecker.in. You can also visit the Contact Us page and fill out the form. Follow our WhatsApp channel for more updates.
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.
