WebQoof Recap: Misinformation Around Alia Bhatt, Iran Protests & More
Here's a weekly recap of the top-five WebQoof fact stories.
Fact Check | Here's a round up of some of the misinformation that went viral this week.
(Photo: Altered by The Quint)
From a morphed picture of Alia Bhatt with her newborn being circulated on to an old video of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members being falsely shared as a violent clash between Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, here's a recap of the top five pieces of misinformation that went viral this week.
1. Fact-Check: This Is Not Alia Bhatt With Her Newborn, Viral Photo Is Morphed!
A picture of Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt with a newborn next to her was being shared on the internet with a claim that it showed Bhatt and her newborn daughter, who the actor gave birth to on 6 November.
The claim of the picture showing Bhatt with her newborn child is false.
However, we found that the picture is morphed. The original picture could be traced back to a blog named 'Inspiralized', run by one Ali Maffucci. The post showed Maffucci talking about the birth of her identical twins, Rio and Sol.
Read our fact-check here.
2. Clips of Two Incidents in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai Shared With False Communal Claims
A video of men riding motorcycles, creating a ruckus and assaulting a man outside the gates of a college was going viral with a claim that the men belonged to the Muslim community who were harassing Hindu women in Tamil Nadu.
However, we found that the viral clip showed two different incidents in Tamil Nadu's Madurai. Furthermore, we found that the police had made arrests for harassment of women and assaults in these incidents, which occurred on 30 October and 2 November, respectively.
These videos were shared with false communal claims.
Further, we also found that none of those arrested belonged to the Muslim community.
Read our fact-check here.
3. Old Video of Clash Between UP BJP Members Shared as Fight Between Leaders of AAP
Two versions of the same video, which shows some people engaged in a violent clash was shared on the internet with a claim that it showed AAP Member of Parliament (MP), Sanjay Singh, beating a member from his party.
Social media users shared the video to take a dig at AAP and pointed out how the party is unfit to win the upcoming Gujarat elections as they are "unable to handle Delhi".
However, we found that the video dated back to 2019 was from Uttar Pradesh. It showed late BJP MP Sharad Tripathi fighting with former BJP MLA Rakesh Singh Baghel after having a heated argument.
Read our fact-check here.
4. Has Iran Sentenced 15,000 Anti-Hijab Protesters to Death? Here Are The Facts
The claim of 15,000 people have been sentenced to death in Iran is false.
However, we found that the claim was misleading, and only one person who tried setting a government building on fire has been sentenced to death as of 16 November.
The Quint spoke to a Human Rights activist and a senior journalist from Iran who confirmed that the claim was misleading.
Read our fact-check here.
5. Did Ronaldo Say He Regrets Leaving Real Madrid? No, the Claim Is False
Social media users have shared photographs of Manchester United football player Cristiano Ronaldo from his recent interview with Piers Morgan with a claim that Ronaldo said leaving Real Madrid was his biggest regret.
In his interview with Piers Morgan, Ronaldo did not say he regrets leaving Real Madrid.
However, we found the claim was fake. In the recently released Part-1 of the interview, we did not find any such statement made by Ronaldo.
Further, Piers Morgan, the interviewer, took to Twitter and termed the quote fake.
Read our fact-check here.
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