Here are the fake news of the week you should be beware of
“A lie can travel halfway around the world, while the truth is just putting on its shoes”. This was a quote given by Mark Twain showcasing his concern on fake news. And today, this quote is truer than ever before.
Several major media houses have the resources to gather information directly. But when one organization publishes a piece of misleading information, that becomes a source for others. That is how fake news takes birth.
Hence, here are the fake news of the week you should be beware of.
Fake news: Ganpati puja had just taken a rest after Visarjan on 19 September 2021. Roads were thronged with people, processions, and bhajans of Lord Ganesh. Meanwhile, just before Ganesh Chaturthi, a video went viral on social media claiming it to be this year’s Lalbaugcha Raja Ji. The video says, “First look of Lalbaugcha Raja 2021 Mumbai.
T 4023 – ॐ गण गणपतये नमः .. Ganpati Bappa Morya .. पहला दर्शन , लालबागचा राजा 🙏🏼🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/JWUDw5Vs4I
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) September 8, 2021
Fact checked: This is misleading. The video is from the year 2016 unveiling of Lalbaugcha Raja in Mumbai. The video was also a topic of discussion as Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan shared this video on his Twitter account.
Fake news: With various ups and downs in Indian politics some fake news was circulated from Gujarat. Various social media posts were claiming that the entire Gujarat unit of Aam Aadmi Party workers had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Whole AAP Gujarat Unit Joined BJP Today. Congratulations @ArvindKejriwal for Big success before the Election. pic.twitter.com/QqejZ9ds6x
— Akshay Singh (@iakshaysinghel) September 8, 2021
Fact checked: This misleading post was widely shared on social media. As per BJP’s own numbers, 250 people from AAP have joined the saffron fold. So, the claim that the entire AAP has joined the ruling party is false.
Fake news: A video was claiming to show a huge crowd rushing inside Kabul’s Hamid Karzai Airport to escape the country. The video had gone viral on Twitter around August end.
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Fact checked: The video is original of Arlington, Texas. It shows a sea of people rushing inside the AT & T Stadium, formerly known as Cowboy Stadium in Texas before a big football match in 2019.
Fake news: A video showing a live bank robbery in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra was stopped heroically by the police. The bank was claimed to be the Indian Overseas Bank.
Bank Robbers Caught Live. #MoneyHeist Failed in India. 😂 pic.twitter.com/ScykHrhykf
— Newton Bank Kumar (@idesibanda) September 2, 2021
Fact checked: According to the Altnews fact-checking team, the video is actually of a mock drill. It was conducted by the police in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar. It was believed to be an actual incident where cops were apprehending robbers at a bank.
Fake news: Afghanistan is still in the news for many wrong reasons. Meanwhile, we came across a picture where men were dressed in burkas at a pro-Taliban protest in Afghanistan.
Men in burqa held rally in support of Taliban pretending to be women. #AfghanistanCrisis #herat #Kandahar #Kabul pic.twitter.com/oE8Dup0d22
— Mirza (@Mirza45994191) September 14, 2021
Fact-checked: This is a picture that is being shared with a false claim and is a morphed photograph. The real picture shows women gathered in support of the Taliban in a university in Kabul. They were all covered in black robes to back the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan.
