Authors
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.
A video, apparently showing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal admitting to corruption by his party’s leaders in Punjab and receiving bribes is being widely shared on social media. According to the viral video, Kejriwal “admits” that he along with newly appointed Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and other leaders in the state all ‘receive’ cut money from junior officers in the administration from the deals they “facilitate” .
Newschecker has found that the video has been edited to give the appearance of Kejriwal admitting to corruption.
The video, which shows Kejriwal in a sit-down interview set up with a journalist from prominent news channel ‘India TV’. The video also has bands in black on the upper and lower portion of the video, with white text that reads ‘Finally… Kejriwal has accepted the truth’.
In the video, Kejriwal can be heard saying “Earlier the money used to reach all the way to the CM. The system was built in such a way that corruption was facilitated at the lower rungs. All the money that was received from all the departments, including the police and the tehsildar would be collected and sent to the upper rungs of administration. Now, even Bhagwant Mann takes money, I take money, ministers take money, MLAs take money… There has been a meeting of tehsildars in Punjab. They have been told to receive bribe money and send it to the higher ups too.”
The video of Kejriwal admitting to corruption was first shared by Twitter user @ThenNowForeve on April 6, and his post has received over 300 retweets and over 700 likes.
Shortly after, the same video of Kejriwal admitting to corruption was posted by BJP leader Naveen Kumar Jindal who is the media head of the party’s Delhi unit, with a caption in Hindi that read ‘After all the truth is finally out’, referring to Kejriwal admitting to corruption.
Fact check/Verification
To verify the authenticity of the video of Kejriwal admitting to corruption, Newschecker first began by looking up the video of the interview. We conducted a keyword search on the words ‘Kejriwal’ ‘India TV’ and ‘interview’ and found a YouTube link of the full length interview.
On listening to the whole video, we realised that the interview has been edited. The part that is being circulated begins at exactly 6 minutes and 43 seconds into the video. Kejriwal is asked by the reporters how it was possible to end corruption in ten days, and he is heard responding that no one is taking bribes anymore because “Earlier the money used to reach all the way to the CM. The system was built in such a way that corruption was facilitated at the lower rungs. All the money that was received from all the departments, including the police and the tehsildar would be collected and sent to the upper rungs of administration. Now neither does Bhagwant Mann take money nor I, nor the MLAs. There has been a meeting of tehsildars in Punjab. They have been warned against taking the money and have been told that they don’t have to send it to the higher ups.”
The portion of the viral video where Kejriwal can be heard saying ‘nahi’ (no) has been edited out, to give the appearance of the Delhi CM admitting to corruption.
We further noticed a watermark on the bottom right corner of the video, placed over the text band of the television channel, which reads ‘Satire’.
Also read: Viral Video Of ‘Hindu New Year Rally Being Stopped By Muslims’ Is An Old Video From Punjab
Conclusion
The viral video, which shows Arvind Kejriwal admitting to corruption has been edited.
Result: Manipulated video
Sources
YouTube Video of Arvind Kejriwal’s interview
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Authors
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.
