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From the raids on journalists associated with NewsClick to the Asian Games, social media saw a spate of false claims in the past week, including a viral video of Russian President Vladimir Putin purportedly calling Canadian PM Justin Trudeau an ‘idiot’. Here are the top five fact-checks of the week by Newschecker.
Satire Post Claiming That China Has Issued Statement Condemning Raids On Newsclick Staff Viral As Real
The raid on the management and staff of Indian news website Newsclick has triggered a conversation around press freedom, right to privacy and national security. Among the many posts that derided the journalists who were raided, multiple users claimed that the Chinese embassy has issued a communique/ press release over the raids on Newsclick staff and journalists. Newschecker learnt that a post by Anand Ranganathan, alleging a communique by the Chinese embassy condemning the raids on Newsclick staff and journalists, intended as a satire, has been taken at face value by many social media users and shared as true.
Putin Calls Trudeau An ‘Idiot’? No, Viral Video Is Of Russian President Criticising Former Canada Speaker
Several social media users shared a video, claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin purportedly called Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau an “idiot” over his lack of historical knowledge, during an event. Newschecker learnt that Putin was criticising former Canada Parliament speaker Anthony Rota over a recent incident of a Nazi veteran being praised and applauded in Canada’s parliament.
Virat Kohli Not Sacked As BSF ‘Ambassador’, Viral Post Is Fabricated
Indian cricket superstar Virat Kohli has been the talk of the town on social media since the just concluded Asia Cup. In this context, a video is viral on social media claiming that the BSF sacked the cricketer from the post of its ambassador after he spent friendly time with Pakistani cricketers in the rain-curtailed match between India and Pakistan. Newschecker found that the viral claim that BSF dropped Virat Kohli as its ambassador was not true and that the viral post was fake.
Indira Gandhi Released Stamp Showing Muslim Wrestler Beating Hindu? Here’s What We Found
The Asian games underway in China’s Hangzhou has dominated social media conversations in India, with users cheering for the country and celebrating the victories by Indian athletes in the sporting championship. In this context, a picture of a stamp is going viral, with users claiming that it was released on the occasion of the 9th Asian Games that was held in New Delhi. The post further alleges that the stamp showed a Muslim wrestler beating Hindu wrestler and that it reflected the attitude of the Congress towards Sanatana Dharma. Newschecker learnt that the stamp released during the 9th Asian Games has no communal colour and is based on an older painting by Janaki done in Mughal style.
Animated Video Of Octopus Crushing Car Linked To New York Floods
A video of a massive octopus crushing a car, destroying it amid the floods in New York, went viral on social media recently. It was found that the video was created by a CGI artist.
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