The JNU Protests on the hostel fee hike which has shaken up the country has been followed by a lot of online social media bashing of JNU students. Many social media trolls have been sharing disinformation about the protesting JNU students and their lifestyle which is being shared widely by other netizens believing them to be true.
Women have especially been targetted by the trolls. The Logical Indian will be breaking down these viral posts:
1. ) Protester Allegedly Drinking Alcohol
A post which showed two women on went viral on Twitter, WhatsApp and Facebook. The woman on the left can be seen protesting against the JNU hostel fee hike, while the woman on the right can be seen with alcohol and cigarettes. Many social media users shared the post with the caption that JNU students who are protesting against the hostel fee hike can afford to buy alcohol and cigarettes but not to pay the increased fee.
JNU Student:
Poor enough to pay ₹10/month hostel fees….
But, Rich enough to have whiskey & cigarettes !!!#ShutJNU pic.twitter.com/wdd43u89jr
— Palash Kr. Adhikary (@palash40072006) November 16, 2019
https://www.facebook.com/Modilaodeshbachao2019/photos/a.319420285275325/531437320740286/?
Fact Check
Although the identity of the protester (The woman on the left side) could not be ascertained, reverse image searches on Google and Yandex search engines showed that the photo on the left indeed a recent image of the 2019 protests. On doing the same for the photo of the woman with alcohol bottles, we were able to trace it back to a photo published in 2015 on a Facebook page from Bangladesh. The caption says that alcohol is forbidden.
মদ্যপান হারাম।
স্বপ্নের ফেরিওয়ালা ಅವರಿಂದ ಈ ದಿನದಂದು ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿದೆ ಗುರುವಾರ, ಆಗಸ್ಟ್ 27, 2015
This image has over time made way to many blogs and social media pages with pornographic content.
2.) Is this old woman a Master’s student at JNU?
Another post getting viral on Facebook and Twitter showed an old woman being arrested and taken into a Delhi Police bus. The post is being shared with a caption which read that the woman in question is an MA student of JNU and was arrested while protesting against the fee hike.
It takes me a while to accept that she is a student of JNU who wants Right to :
abuse India
abuse Army
demolish Vivekanand Statue
Education
hostel
food
free sex
drugs
Gundagardi
vandalise property
#JNUBachaoAndolan #JNUWallOfShame #ShutDownJNU pic.twitter.com/TBiPpefRnY— Dharmendra Chhonkar (@yoursdharm) November 19, 2019
MA History student at JNU got arrested by police while protesting against fee hike. pic.twitter.com/l68Z7fKqZO
— Keshav Hedgewar (@KeshavHedgewar) November 19, 2019
Latest visuals of JNU students getting arrested while protesting against fee hike from Rs 10 to 300.
Rename JNU to ‘Rajeev Gandhi Old age university’. pic.twitter.com/RWY9gjNhuM
— Ajit Doval Fan (@AjitKDoval_FAN) November 18, 2019
Fact Check
On reverse image searching the image using Google and Yandex, we got to know that this photo was actually taken on May 7, 2019. The photo is from a protest which took place outside the Supreme Court after former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi was cleared off sexual harassment allegations on him.
NDTV website, published on May 7, 2019
On digging deeper and referring to regional media, we found out through a photo caption in Malayalam Paper Janayugom that the woman in the picture is Annie Raja, a CPI Leader and the General Secretary of National Secretary of Indian Women. She is also married to Communist leader D Raja.
3.) Is this woman a JNU Student?
Another image was circulated on social media, where a woman is seen being heckled by policewomen. Trolls shared the image by again stating that she is a JNU student.
https://twitter.com/shuklapinku/status/1196730323892981760?s=19
https://twitter.com/AjaySengar_/status/1196773943203389440
#JNU में बुजुर्ग महिला को वृद्धा पेंशन लेने से रोकती पुलिस।�� pic.twitter.com/bu2qSPg7r7
— मयंक (@mayanksanatan) November 19, 2019
Fact Check
Reverse Image searching on Google and Yandex again led us to the source of the photograph. The photo is of a woman protestor who was protesting for minimum wages at the Labour Commission office in Hyderabad in 2017. The photo is taken by PTI.
Outlook India website
Moreover in the photo given above, one can see a poster in the left corner with text written in Telugu. Moreover, the uniforms which the police personnel are wearing have different tags and colours which are used by the Telangana Police and not Delhi Police.
The Logical Indian appeals to social media users to verify the facts in any social media post before sharing it forward.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at [email protected]
