WebQoof Recap: Misinformation Around Virat Kohli, Rahul Gandhi, COVID-19 & More

Read our weekly recap to find out the most viral pieces of misinformation from this week.

Fact-Check | Read our top-five fact-check stories from this week.

(Photo: The Quint)

From AI-Generated Clip of Indian cricketer Virat Kohli, misleading claims about Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi to false claims about COVID-19, here are the most viral pieces of misinformation from this week.

1. Did Singapore Perform an Autopsy on a COVID-19 Patient? No, Claim Is False!

A post is doing the rounds on social media claiming that Singapore has become the first country to perform an autopsy (post-mortem) of a COVID-19 infected body.

• The post further stated that COVID-19 exists as a bacteria and not as a virus.

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

However, both these claims are false. Singapore's Ministry of Health had previously clarified that it did not perform any such autopsy on a COVID-19 patient.

• Additionally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had said that COVID-19 is caused by a virus and not by a bacteria.

• You can read our story here.

2. Do These Images Show the Same ‘Actor’ in Different Photos With Rahul Gandhi? No!

A set of photos, both of which show Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, have gone viral on social media, where users have claimed that one person in the background of each photo is an actor.

Sharing photos of Gandhi with porters, also known as coolies, and with Delhi University students, social media users have highlighted men in both photos, claiming that they show the same person, who is an actor hired to be present in Gandhi's videos.

An archived version of this post can be seen here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

But this claim is false.

• We went through both videos and found that both men are different people.

• You can read our story here.

3. No, Video Doesn't Show a Pakistani Criticising Pak Govt After Operation Sindoor

A video is going viral on social media where a man is speaking against the Pakistani government following Operation Sindoor.

He speaks in favour of India while criticising media from both the countries for sharing misinformation. Republic Bharat carried this video on their bulletin and portrayed the individual as a Pakistani national.

• The anchor, Syed Suhail, claimed that Pakistani citizens themselves were denouncing their government and army.

• However, the news channel has removed this segment from their YouTube video now. The clip can be seen here.

An archive can be seen here.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

However, the claim is false as it does not show a Pakistani citizen criticising their government.

• This video shows Anil Singh, an Indian model and content creator who shared a skit about Operation Sindoor.

• You can read our story here.

4. 2024 Clip of Shashi Tharoor Criticising Trump Linked To Recent US Delegation

A video of senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor is going viral with the claim that Tharoor, while in the United States of America (USA), criticised President Donald Trump publicly.

Those sharing have claimed that this took place during the recent all-party delegation sent to the USA and other countries to highlight Pakistan's stance and its zero-tolerance approach to global terrorism, following Operation Sindoor.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: Facebook) 

But the claim is false as this video is from the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) in New York. This took place in September 2024.

You can read our story here.

5. AI-Generated Clip of Virat Kohli Talking About a New Restaurant Viral as Real

A video of Indian cricketer Virat Kohli is being shared on social media platforms, showing him getting nostalgic about a street food vendor in Delhi.

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot) 

The claim is false as the audio of this video has been created using artificial intelligence (AI).

You can read our story here.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818 , or e-mail it to us at [e-mail] and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)