WebQoof Recap: Of Child-Lifting Rumours & Farmers’ Tractor Rally
Here’s a round-up of all that misled the public this week.
From unrelated videos about child kidnapping making a comeback to rumours around farmers tractor rally on 26 January, here’s all that misled the public this week.
1. Viral Video of Child Killed in Rajasthan Shared With False Claim
A video of extremely graphic nature showing a man slitting a child’s throat is being widely circulated on WhatsApp with the claim that it shows how a person is killing people to take out “vital organs.”
However, a police officer and a local reporter confirmed to us that the claim on social media is false. The incident is from Rajasthan’s Sikar wherein the accused killed his cousin to take personal revenge.
You can read our fact-check here.
2. BJP Bengal Uses Pic From California to Say TMC Vandalised Homes
The West Bengal unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) shared an infographic on the vandalisation of homes of BJP leaders and activists, in which Minakhan police reportedly arrested four people. The party blamed Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) for the incident.
However, the image showing a house put on fire that is used in the infograph is neither recent nor from West Bengal. The image is actually from California and dates back to May 2014.
You can read our fact-check here.
3. Did Donald Trump Say ‘He Won’ in His Last Letter to Joe Biden?
Hours after Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States of America (USA), a fake letter purportedly signed by former President Donald Trump went viral on social media. “Joe, you know I won,” the letter quotes Trump as saying.
However, there are certain red flags in the letter which suggest that it isn’t a real one. Moreover, the content of the letter, which Trump left for Biden, hasn’t been made public yet.
You can read our fact-check here.
4. Old Christmas Revelry Video Falsely Linked to Farmers’ R-Day Rally
Ahead of the tractor rally planned by protesting farmers on Republic Day, a viral video of decorated tractors is being shared to claim that it shows the preparation of the said rally.
However, we found that the visuals are being falsely linked to the farmers’ agitation and could be traced back to December 2020, while the farmers announced the tractor rally only on 2 January. Moreover, the video shows reindeer, Santa Claus and other Christmas-related decorations.
You can read our fact-check here.
5. Viral Video From 2018 Used to Discredit Ongoing Farmers’ Protest
A video in which a man can be seen sprinkling water on wheat sacks is being massively shared on social media amid the ongoing farmers’ protests. People are claiming that this is a practice adopted by farmers in Punjab who sprinkle water on grains to speed up the rotting process and then sell these grains to distilleries and breweries.
However, the said video is from an incident which took place in 2018 in Haryana’s Fatehabad district. Several news reports also pointed out that the person in the video is not a farmer. The incident allegedly happened at a granary owned by a trader associated with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).
You can read our fact-check here.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)