Fake news in today’s time has become a social evil. It has become extremely easy to find the insecurities and fears of people and then circulate false news wide and far for propaganda.

It is to be noted that the repercussions of these fake news are graver than perceived to be. Till June, about 15 people were lynched by mobs in 2018 because of suspicion and paranoia created by fake news.

Here are some of the major fake news which were floated on social media and were shared multiple times:

Pakistan’s flag was not waved at Congress’s victory procession

Elections in five states have concluded recently. Congress emerged victorious in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Expectedly, party workers in these states held rallies to celebrate. However, footage from one such rally in Rajasthan went viral on social media, with the allegation that Pakistan flag was waved during the rally.

कांग्रेस की जीत पे पाकिस्तान का झंडा लहराते हुए
भविष्य मे बहुत पछताओगे।इन वीडियो को आप सभी से निवेदन है कि एक बार जरूर देखना👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/6m9TKIWVsK

— dayaram Gehlot (@DRGahlot1) December 12, 2018

Turns out that while the video was correct, however, the narrative with which it is being shared is false. There was a green flag, but it was not Pakistan’s flag.

Same was debunked by the Rajasthan Police. The state police asked the people not to get trapped by this and further assured that they are in process of catching the “mischief -maker”.

Alert 🚫🔊

This video 📽️ circulating on #socialmedia claims that there is a Pakistan flag being waved in a victory procession of @INCIndia.

This is false and we request people not to get trapped by this ❌. We are trying to trace the mischief-maker.#FakeNews @SMHoaxSlayer pic.twitter.com/WDnABuJx2M

— Rajasthan Police (@PoliceRajasthan) December 12, 2018

Edited video of Rahul Gandhi suggesting u-turn on loan waiver

Post the Congress-win in three of the five states where elections have recently concluded, a video of Rahul Gandhi is being widely shared. In the post that is being widely shared, two videos have been juxtaposed. One part of the video shows Rahul Gandhi promising farm loan waiver within 10 days of being elected to power and the other video shows him saying “Loan waiver is not a solution”.

This video was shared multiple times. Even Union Minister Smriti Irani retweeted it.

However, according to Alt News, the second video is part of a video from a press conference. In the press conference, he was being asked if Congress would make the issue of farm loan waiver part of its manifesto for 2019 general elections. To this Rahul Gandhi said, “Loan waiver is a supporting step. It is not a solution. The solutions would be complex, it would be to support them, build infrastructure, provide access to technology and frankly, the solution is not easy.”

Emotional letter to PM Modi falsely attributed to Arnab Goswami

A letter falsely attributed to Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami went viral on social media. The letter purportedly written by Goswami addressing PM Modi starts by saying, “We don’t deserve a person like you. A major portion of the country’s population is not valuing your work.”

This letter surfaced after the recently concluded elections, where BJP lost in all the five states. The letter appears to be an emotional bid to PM Modi, asking him to relax and enjoy life as his “commitment and dedication has no value here”.

However, while speaking to The Quint, Goswami denied knowledge of such letter. It may be noted that this “letter” is three years old. Many people/pages including right-wing page Shankh Naad, notorious for spreading fake news and propaganda shared it about three years back.

Again before the Karnataka elections in May this year, the letter resurfaced.

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.