WebQoof Recap: Of Misinformation Around Karnataka Results, West Bengal and More
Social media has been abuzz with several fake claims around the Karnataka Assembly elections.
WebQoof Recap | Here are The Quint's top five fact-check stories from this week.
(Source: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)
From fake claims around the recently-concluded Karnataka assembly polls after Congress' win to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sharing an altered graph on daily power cuts, here is this week's recap of some of the most viral pieces of misinformation.
1. No, Pakistan’s Flag Was Not Raised in Bhatkal After Congress Won Karnataka Polls
After Congress' win in the Karnataka assembly elections, a video went viral on social media platforms, with users claiming that people in the state raised Pakistan’s flag.
The video showed several people raising a green flag alongside a saffron flag, a Congress flag and a flag supporting BR Ambedkar.
However, the video shows an Islamic flag and not Pakistan's national flag. Watch the video below to find out more.
Read our fact-check here.
2. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal Shares Old, Manipulated Graphic on Power Cuts
Delhi CM and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal shared a graph - which talked about daily power cuts in different states in the country - on his Twitter handle.
The graph showed Punjab and Delhi as the states which experience the lowest power cuts in India. While sharing the graph, Kejriwal lauded the efforts of AAP governments in both states.
An archive of the post can be seen here.
However, we found that the graph was from 2020, when Punjab had a Congress government led by former CM Amarinder Singh.
The other striking factor was that the graph was altered to show Punjab in the second-last position.
Read our fact-check here, where we debunk the claim in detail.
3. Old & Unrelated Video Shared as Voting Fraud During Karnataka Elections
A video of a person continuously casting votes on an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) was shared to claim that the incident took place during the voting day of the 2023 Karnataka assembly elections.
Team WebQoof found that the claim was misleading. The video dated back to February 2022; according to news reports, it was taken during the municipal elections in West Bengal.
The video was being falsely linked to Karnataka elections.
Read our fact-check here.
4. Old Clip of Several Men Molesting Two Women in UP Shared as One From West Bengal
A disturbing video of a several men groping and molesting two men was being shared on the internet with a claim stating that it was a recent incident from West Bengal.
The video had recorded more than 15,30,000 views.
However, we found that the incident dated back to May 2017, when 14 men molested two women on a deserted road in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur.
Read our full story here.
5. Fact-Check: Did BJP Lose 58 Seats by a Margin of 2000 Votes in Karnataka Polls?
People on social media shared a claim stating that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost 58 seats by a margin of 2000 votes and about 41 seats by a margin of 100 seats in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections.
However, the claim did not align with the truth. The state poll had 12 constituencies where the winning candidate's margin was below 2000. Further, BJP only lost five seats with a margin less than 2000.
The viral claim was false.
Read our full story here.
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)
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