Authors
A self-taught social media maverick, Saurabh realised the power of social media early on and began following and analysing false narratives and ‘fake news’ even before he entered the field of fact-checking professionally. He is fascinated with the visual medium, technology and politics, and at Newschecker, where he leads social media strategy, he is a jack of all trades. With a burning desire to uncover the truth behind events that capture people's minds and make sense of the facts in the noisy world of social media, he fact checks misinformation in Hindi and English at 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
A video is being shared on social media claiming that a truck carrying fireworks to celebrate the consecration of Ram Temple caught fire in Unnao.
Fact Check
While investigating the viral claim, we found a response to the viral tweet by the Unnao Police.
According to the response by Unnao police, “On 17.01.2024 at around 4:00 am, truck number TN 28 AL 6639 in which firecrackers were loaded, caught fire due to unknown reasons near village Khargikheda under police station Purva area. On receiving information, the fire was completely extinguished by Purva police station and fire brigade and there was no loss of life. The truck has been removed from the road. Traffic is running smoothly. After talking to the truck owner by the police, it was found that the said truck was going from Tamil Nadu to Bahraich, which was loaded with fireworks, children’s posters, posters of film artists and religious posters for the supply of the shop.
Purva Area Officer Sonam Singh told Aaj Tak and News18 that a truck with firecrackers was on its way to Bahraich when it caught fire due to unknown reason near Khargikheda village at 4am on 17 January 2024. The police and fire brigade put out the fire and no one was injured.
Mamata Tripathi, a journalist with Dainik Bhaskar who had earlier claimed that the truck had gone to Ayodhya, also shared a video statement of CO Sonam Singh’s clarification. Many other local journalists have also confirmed that the truck is going to Bahraich and not Ayodhya.
Conclusion
The posts claiming that a truck, loaded with fireworks meant for the celebrations during the Ram Temple consecration, caught fire, is false. The truck was actually heading to Bahraich when it burst into flames near Khargikheda, Unnao, due to unknown reasons.
Result: Partly False
Our Sources:
1. Tweets shared by Unnao Police and journalists
2. Media reports
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Authors
A self-taught social media maverick, Saurabh realised the power of social media early on and began following and analysing false narratives and ‘fake news’ even before he entered the field of fact-checking professionally. He is fascinated with the visual medium, technology and politics, and at Newschecker, where he leads social media strategy, he is a jack of all trades. With a burning desire to uncover the truth behind events that capture people's minds and make sense of the facts in the noisy world of social media, he fact checks misinformation in Hindi and English at 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.
