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Fact Check: From Punjabi Artist Impersonating As Indian Soldier To UP Govt's Ad In Time Magazine Reported As Real News
Writer: Yusha Rahman
Yusha, an engineer turned journalist with a core interest in sensible journalism. Since the time she worked in an MNC, she saw how fake news was rife to malign images of communities, leaders, etc. This encouraged her to give up her career in MNC and passionately work towards curbing fake news and propaganda.
India, 10 Jan 2021 11:27 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 : Yusha Rahman
Yusha, an engineer turned journalist with a core interest in sensible journalism. Since the time she worked in an MNC, she saw how fake news was rife to malign images of communities, leaders, etc. This encouraged her to give up her career in MNC and passionately work towards curbing fake news and propaganda.
Here is the list of fake claims that were viral on social media this week and were debunked by The Logical Indian's fact-check team.
While social media has brought global information at the fingertip of a person, they are also one of the major sources from where you can be misled through fake news and hoaxes.
In context to this, The Logical Indian present you a weekly wrap-up of some of the fake news that were rife on social media.
1. Ex-Armyman Who Questioned PM Modi On Farm Laws Discredited By Right-Wingers As Imposter
A video of a Punjabi artist Goldy Manepuria went viral in which he was seen questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi on farm laws. In the video, he claimed that he was army personnel who is now being tagged as a terrorist and Khalistani. Multiple social media account along with the website OpIndia claimed that Goldy Manepuria is an imposter who has never been associated with the Indian army.
The Logical Indian's fact-check team investigated the claim and found that he was associated with the army. We spoke to Goldy Manepuria who said he worked in the Indian Army from 2002 to 2018, in 175 medium regiments as Lance Havildar. He also shared his canteen card and images of his time in Indian army with us.
You can read the entire story here.
2. Ad By UP Govt In Time Magazine Reported By Indian Media As Real News Praising Yogi Adityanath
A three-page article was published in the Time magazine's December 21/28, Indian edition. The article was titled, "Hang in there, better times are ahead"; and it hailed the efforts of Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government in curbing coronavirus pandemic in the state. Many Indian media houses reported that this article was the editorial stand of the magazine.
The Logical Indian did the investigation and found that the media tried misleading the viewers. The article was actually an advertisement by Uttar Pradesh government not a reporting. BoomLive contacted Time Magazine, who confirmed that the content was sponsored. Newslaundry reported that the article published in Time magazine was a press release which was earlier sent to the journalists in December.
You can read the entire story here.
3. Posts Claiming Lok Sabha Speaker's Daughter Getting Into UPSC Without Giving Examination Goes Viral On Social Media
A post went viral on Facebook claiming that Anjali Birla, the daughter of Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, has got an UPSC seat without taking the examination. The posts hint that Anjali cracked UPSC examinations not due to her talent but due to her privileges for being the daughter of Lok Sabha speaker.
The Logical Indian found the roll number of Anjali Birla was available in the list of both preliminary and main examination results. Anjali Birla also spoke to The Quint and confirmed that she had followed all the procedures that are essential for UPSC examination.
You can read the full report here.
4. Two fake news associated with the idol vandalisation in Andhra Pradesh went viral on social media.
The Logical Indian debunked two similar claims of idol vandalisation in Andhra Pradesh, one is of Lord Ganesh's idol inside a temple in Eti Gairampeta village, Golugonda Mandal, in Vishakhapatnam, and the other is of three idols present on the front door leading to the Varaha Lakshminarasimha Swamy Temple in Singarayakonda. The social media claimed that the idols at these temples were desecrated by some miscreants.
The Logical Indian did a fact check and found that the claims in both the cases were false. In first case, the arms of the idols had fallen off long back but people who observed them now shared it on social media speculating that it was an act of miscreants and in second case, Prakasam was not desecrated intentionally, but the distortion happened due to corrosion.
You can read both the articles here and here.
5. No, The Viral Image Is Not The Cover Page Of National Geographic Magazine
An image which showed a man in green turban purportedly on the cover page of National Geographic magazine went viral on social media. It was shared with the claim that National Geographic magazine has covered the farmers' protest on their front page.
The Logical Indian debunked the claim. On investigation, we found out that the image was an artistic work and not the cover page of National Geographic magazine. The image was posted by an Instagram user @anoopreet on her handle on January 4, 2021. We also found out that the photo of the Sikh in a green turban was actually clicked by Ravi Chaudhary, a photojournalist of PTI.
You can read the full article here.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.
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