As the elections draw nearer, the political parties in India have started a media circus, trying to get an upper hand on each other. This time the Congress party has made a political faux pass by posting an old video of BJP and trying to pass it on as a recent one.
Congress posted a video on Twitter, which shows protesters shouting slogans against Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, claiming that it was taken during PM Modi’s July 7 rally in Jaipur. This was also tweeted by Divya Spandana, who handles the party’s social media and digital communications strategy.
The video shows a group of angry people, shouting: “We have nothing against you Modi but Vasundhara will not be spared. Vasundhara go back!”.The Congress also claimed that they were being blocked by Facebook from uploading the video. Meanwhile, several political leaders and supporters of the Congress party, including Sachin Pilot and Prashant Bhushan, shared the video on social media, putting forth the point that BJP is losing its stronghold.
Hey @facebook we're unable to upload this video on our facebook page https://t.co/NPOcx4pW6n. Can you tell us why? Or should we ask @rsprasad? pic.twitter.com/ol4TEiF9Zr
— Congress (@INCIndia) July 7, 2018
The reality
In reality, the video was actually taken five months back, in Jhunjhunu where both CM Vasundhara Raje and PM Modi were present. Once people pointed out that this was an old video, Congress made an effort to control the damage, and several leaders deleted their tweets.
Oops..this video was taken in Jhunjhunu and not in Jaipur, where CM Vasundhara Raje and PM Modi were present, as the infighting between the BJP cadre broke out. https://t.co/Kqlt0dp0Qe
— Congress (@INCIndia) July 7, 2018
On Sunday, BJP’s IT cell in-charge Amit Malviya hit back at the Congress tweeting, “Congress scores a self-goal (as always) on Twitter. Claims a 5-month-old video is from the prime minister’s rally in Jaipur on Saturday.”
Congress scores a self goal (as always) on Twitter. Claims a 5 month old video is from the prime minister’s rally in Jaipur on Saturday. https://t.co/42hQjGko2n
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) July 8, 2018
Damage Control
Congress’s social media in-charge Divya Spandana, who had also shared the video, tweeted, ”Apologies: apparently this video is from March and not yesterday…gosh Rajasthan BJP lost it that long back?? “. She also tweeted at Amit Malviya stating, “Yes, we did make that mistake. But the content is real. Will you acknowledge Amit? Be a man, you can.”
Yes we did make that mistake. But the content is real. Will you acknowledge Amit? Be a man, you can �� https://t.co/EKGShG3vA9
— Divya Spandana/Ramya (@divyaspandana) July 8, 2018
Prashant Bhushan also issued an apology, later
The Logical Indian Take
Creating or sharing fake news is never justified. We have a responsibility to verify everything that we post on the internet. To ensure that our national debate is healthy and well-informed, each and every one of us has a responsibility of treating what we read with a pinch of salt, a spoonful of doubt, and a flood of research.
To all the political parties and leaders, ruling or opposition, please don’t be a part of the problem. Be part of the solution. For a better future, for a better nation.