All section Close
Image Credit: Whatsapp, Newsteam
Fact Check: WhatsApp Message Claims Muslims Restaurant Owners Mix Human Faeces In Food
Writer: Jakir Hassan
A journalist at heart loves the in-depth work of reporting, writing, editing, research, and data analysis. A digital and social media enthusiast.
India, 16 May 2022 1:57 PM GMT | Updated 17 May 2022 10:10 AM GMT
Editor : Bharat Nayak |
As the founding editor, Bharat had been heading the newsroom during the formation years of the organization and worked towards editorial policies, conceptualizing and designing campaign strategies and collaborations. He believes that through the use of digital media, one could engage the millennial's in rational conversations about pertinent social issues, provoking them to think and bring a behavioral change accordingly.
Creatives : Jakir Hassan |
A journalist at heart loves the in-depth work of reporting, writing, editing, research, and data analysis. A digital and social media enthusiast.
Writer : Yukta Baid
She is a postgraduate student of Journalism at SIMC Pune, passionate about exploring and reporting different beats with an objective view. Keen interest in, but not limited to, lifestyle and culture. I hold a triple major in English, Psychology, and Journalism. It's always easier to find stories over a cup of coffee.
The Logical Indian Fact Check team received a WhatsApp forward claiming that two Muslim restaurant owners in London were arrested for mixing human faeces in their food and serving it to non-Muslim customers. The Logical Indian Fact Check team verified the viral claim.
A video is doing rounds on WhatsApp with a claim that two Muslim restaurant owners in London were arrested for mixing human faeces in their food and serving it to non-Muslim customers.
Claim:
The viral video starts with a person telling his Hindu brethren to keep sharing it with their friends and family. He, then, says how there was only news of Muslims spitting on fruits and urinating in the food, and how it's not limited to India anymore. He continues asking everyone to share the video, to tell people the 'truth' about Muslims. He then talks about a 'recent' incident from Nottingham, Britain, where Abdul and Amjad were arrested because 150 people who ate at their restaurant fell sick. On examination, human faeces were found in their stomachs, which led to an investigation of the restaurant.
He then claims that Abdul and Amjad said that there were two kitchens in their restaurant- one, for the non-Muslims, where they mix faeces in the food, and the other for their Muslim brothers. A clip of Ajaz Khan is added in the middle with no relevance to the incident. He goes on to say that they weren't just targeting Hindus with their hatred, they were targeting all non-Muslims.
He adds that a similar incident was reported from France too, and alleges that this happens everywhere in India. He then adds that no incident has been reported from India yet, but he warns everyone listening against what is possible.
The image has gone viral across WhatsApp. The Logical Indian received several messages on our WhatsApp fact check no. +91-6364000343 requesting to fact check the claim.
Below you can see the video.
Fact Check:
The Logical Indian Fact Check team verified the viral claim and found it to be false. The video is from 2015 and presented out of context.
During the initial investigation, we observed the video carefully and found the articles mentioned in the video were dated back to April 2020. it clearly suggests that the incident mentioned in the video is not from recent. One article mentioned in the video has the image of Abdul and Amzad.
Taking a hint from the headline and the images, we did an open keyword search which led us to the same report which was used in the video. The article quoted Daily Mail in their report. We again did a keyword search and found a report of the Daily Mail related to this incident. The published date mentioned in the report was of September 2015 which means the incident is almost 7 years old. The title of the report reads, "Kebab shop owners infected almost 100 customers with a rare and serious form of food poisoning after their meals were contaminated with human faeces."
According to the report, Mohammad Abdul Basit and Amjad Bhatti, owners of the Khyber Pass takeaway in Nottingham, were found guilty for an outbreak of E.coli that saw 142 customers fall seriously ill. Between June 18, 2014 and June 26, 2014, people who went to Khyber Pass, either to eat or take food away, their health suddenly began to deteriorate. Around 150 people fell seriously ill including a 13-year-old girl who had to be admitted to the ICU. The investigation reveals the mixing of human faeces in the food. After that the owners of the hotel, Abdul Basit and Amjad Bhatti, were barred from running the hotel for a year. Both were sentenced to four months in jail and were ordered to pay £200 as compensation to each affected person.
However, it is worth noticing that nowhere in the reports it was mentioned the food was contaminated with human faeces intentionally or separate food was prepared for non Muslims. The reason mentioned for the outbreak of E.coli was 'inadequate hand-washing techniques by the staff.' In the verdict, Justice Jeremy Lee described the matter as very serious and also reprimanded it for not following the guidelines of Food and Health. The report quotes Justice Jeremy Lea saying, 'It's clear that hand-washing practices by some workers were wholly inadequate and this led to food becoming contaminated".
On searching more, we also found a report of The Guardian on this matter. According to it, more than 100 takeaway customers became ill with an uncommon strain of E Coli. It was found that workers did not wash their hands after using the restroom. The report also quoted the prosecutor who mentioned that nine out of the 12 members of staff who handle food at the takeaway were found to have traces of the bacteria, and one of the defendant's daughters fell ill."
It is evident from our investigation that the viral claim of Muslim restaurants intentionally mixing Human faeces in foods is misleading. The viral incident is of 2014. While indeed two restaurant owners in the United Kingdom were found guilty of providing food infected with human faeces, however, the contamination was not intentional nor religiously motivated. The court found that the hand-washing practices by some workers were wholly inadequate and this led to food being contaminated resulted an outbreak of E-Coli. Also, the claim separate food was being prepared for non-Muslims was also false.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.
Must Reads
We are an independent and public-spirited digital media platform for Indian millennials. We report news and issues that matter as well as give you the opportunity to take action.
