Fake News Alert: Stories that you shouldn’t share on Social Media

Ayushi Mittal August 23, 2021

66 3 minutes read

Fake News Alert: Stories that were fake and do not deserve your attention

Fake news is nothing new but the internet has made it easier than ever for fake news to spread. The social media age has taken over the credibility of News. Every then and now we come across news stories that are fake. Every week we bring to you a Fake News alert and tell you stories that you shouldn’t be sharing on your social media. Here is a list of Fake News of the week

1. Fake news: Civilians being shot by the Taliban in Afghanistan

Amid reports of civilians being shot by the Taliban in Afghanistan, a video of a group of armed men shooting at a passing vehicle and pulling out corpses from it is going viral on social media. This video shows the Taliban executing civilians on the streets in Afghanistan.

Civilians being shot by the Taliban in Afghanistan

Fact-checked:

The Quint Webqoof confirms, that the video of a 2019 enactment of similar incidents that have happened before in the Jalrez district of Afghanistan, where the Taliban has executed members of the Hazara community.

2. Fake news: A video showing people firing their guns in the air and shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’

A video showing people firing their guns in the air and shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is great) on the streets is being shared on social media with a claim that it shows the Taliban taking control of the Presidential Palace in Afghanistan’s Kabul.

Read more:- As Taliban Takes Over, LGBTQ+ in Afghanistan will be on Radar

Fact checked:

By carefully looking at the visuals, the flag flared in the wider video is a Syrian flag and not an Afghan flag. With the help of Google reverse image, a screenshot from video matches to a news report clips published in Aljazeera 2015. The caption says, “Syrian rebels capture Idlib city in joint offensive”. However, Taliban troops did enter the presidential palace after taking over Kabul but this video is not from the same incident.

3. Fake news: A photo is shared on social media which shows IAF C-17 evacuating 800 people from Kabul, Afghanistan.

This photo of 600+ Afghans squeezed into a C-17 is so powerful; take a moment to put yourself in their shoes. No luggage. May never see their home country again. They risk it all for freedom. Let America be a nation that welcomes them. Feeds them. Clothes them. THREAD pic.twitter.com/3R94QfEAY4

— Andy Kim (@AndyKimNJ) August 17, 2021

Fact-checked:

While India is evacuating people from Afghanistan, this photo is from 2013 when the United States Air force evacuated more than 680 Tacloban residents, following Super Typhoon Haiyan.

4. Fake news: Rahul Gandhi is praising present Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying, “as long as Modi is in power, Indian youth will get employment”.

A video of Rahul Gandhi, leader of the Indian National Congress got viral. It claims that Gandhi is praising present Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying, “as long as Modi is in power, Indian youth will get employment”.

Fact-checked:

The fact-finding team of the Alt news verified the video of Rahul Gandhi and concluded that the speech was delivered during the ‘Parliament Ghero’ rally led by Rahul Gandhi. This is edited and the word ‘not’ was finely clipped out.

5. Fake news:

An image was shared by BJP members as the Vaishno Devi flyover in Ahmedabad. The model comprises an overbridge, well-planned encircled roads, an illustration of vehicles, and an underpass pictured in motion. The image also has a caption in English and Gujarati saying, “Design of Vaishno Devi circle Ahmedabad ”.

Fact-checked:

The Logical Indian team verified the claim. The photo of a project design made for the interchange near Shuliavska metro station in Ukraine. The pictures are also available on several Ukrainian websites. They are mostly dated in the year between 2012-2013

6. Fake news: Many local news channels of Rajasthan showed a video of a thrilling incident. In the video, a crocodile is feasting on a woman’s body

https://twitter.com/humlogindia/status/1422497770116575239

Many local news channels of Rajasthan showed a video of a thrilling incident. In the video, a crocodile is feasting on a woman’s body. Some channels also claim that the incident took place in Mumbai, may belong to Madhya Pradesh, or from the Debi River in Orissa.

Fact-checked:

Boomlive found that the horrific incident is not even from India. This video is from Mexico where the crocodile is swimming with a woman’s corpse in its jaws.

If you come across any such news and need to get a fact-check, kindly drop the video, photos, or links of the same.