Fake vs Fact: 5 Fake News that went viral and we almost believed them!

Ayushi Mittal January 3, 2022

922 3 minutes read

Here is a list of fake news that went viral in the last week of 2021

From New Year’s parties, glistening treetops, to decorated cribs, and resolutions for a fantastic year, Christmas and New Year add a little hope into our lives. After all, We all waited a long time for 2021 to come to an end. However, by the time the year ends, we come across plenty of fake news, continuing the legacy of 2021.

Tejas express lit up for Christmas!

https://twitter.com/EkVishwa/status/1475392984644341760

Fake news: India’s semi high-speed luxury train, Tejas express runs between Mumbai to Goa was completely lit up for Christmas. A 45-second video of a running train illuminated with LEDs was attached with a viral claim.

Fact checked: The claim along with the video is misleading. The Tejas-express is a semi-high-speed fully air-conditioned train, with modern onboard facilities introduced by Indian railways in 2017. However, the train scene in the viral video has a steam engine. The same video was uploaded by SWNS on December 2, 2021.

Its description suggests that the Train of Light is a special train run annually during Christmas in southwest England by Dartmouth steam railways and riverboat company.

Hindu Girl Stabbed by Muslim boy!

https://twitter.com/RUDRA_VSR/status/1474419224848175112?s=20

Fake news: CCTV footage shows a boy stabbing a girl multiple times as she refuses advances from the culprit. It is claimed that the boy attacked is a Muslim.

Fact checked: The incident happened in Bihar’s Gopalganj where a boy stabbed a girl, who had complained about him pursuing her friend to the principal. However, there is no communal angle as both the accused and the survivor belong to the Muslim community.

News24 apologized to Akhilesh Yadav!

Fake news: The screenshot of a tweet carrying a graphic from a news bulletin from News24 has gone viral. The tweet was shared to claim that the news channel News24 apologized to Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav for trying to defame his party at the behest of Bhartiya Janta Party.

Fact checked: The viral screenshot was a photoshopped image and News24 did not publish any apology tweet addressing Akhilesh Yadav.

Woman crying over Charred son’s body in Pak!

How can you explain to this Sri Lankan mother whose son is burnt in Sialkot today that Muslims are peace loving people Heavenly Muslims who defame their beloved religion of Islam💔💔💔#SailkotIncident pic.twitter.com/FkPxhDntuH
— Syed Farhan (@SyedFar65591788) December 3, 2021

Fake news: A 48-year-old Sri Lankan man, Priyantha Kumara Diyawadana, was lynched and burned to death by a mob in Pakistan’s Sialkot for alleged blasphemy on December 3, 2021. However, now a photo is being circulated with a claim a woman is crying in front of a man’s charred body. The claim says the woman is the mother of the man.

Fact checked: this is an old photo where an FAG of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was burned. The original image was shared by multiple social media handles during the past several months. A media outlet in Pakistan, City42 shared the news on July 9, 2020, with the original version of a photograph. As per the report, the woman is identified as Afshan Latif, a former superintendent of the government-run welfare center for destitute women.

UP Police Hit Pregnant woman!

https://twitter.com/Khushi9595/status/1473849316942831617

Fake news: According to the Report of India TV, on 4 December, 2021, the Uttar Pradesh police carried out a lathi charge on around 69,000 assistant teachers who were taking out candle marches in Lucknow, against the recruitment issues in government schools. They were taking a candle march towards Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s residence. Opposition leaders like Akhilesh Yadav, Priyanka Gandhi, and Mayawati, criticized the incident. In the same backdrop, a clip went viral claiming that the UP Police assaulted a pregnant woman.

Fact checked: The Viral claim is misleading. The viral video in a report of The Quint Hindi dated 5 September 2018. According to the report, UP TET 2011 and B.Ed. Pass candidates were protesting, seeking their appointment. During the protest, they carried out a march between Eco Garden and Vidhan Sabha. When the agitators reached the Gandhi statue in Hazratganj, the police stopped them. During this, there was a scuffle between the candidates and the policemen. Later, the police lathi-charged to disperse the candidates. During this lathi-charge, UP police hit the pregnant woman in the stomach, after which her health deteriorated. A tweet by UP Police Fact Check debunked the viral claim and wrote that the viral video is 2 years old and asked users to not spread misleading content without verification.