WebQoof Recap: Of West Bengal Elections, White House Shooting, and More
Read our recap to find the viral pieces of fake news we fact-checked this week!
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From a range of misinformation surrounding the West Bengal elections to a post tying White House suspected shooter Cole Tomas Allen to an Indian woman, here are the top five pieces of misinformation we debunked this week.
1. Clipped Video Shared To Claim TMC Expects 15-16 Seats in First Phase of WB Polls
A video of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Anubrata Mondal is being widely shared on social media, claiming that he said that his party would only secure 15-16 seats after the conclusion of the first phase of polling in the West Bengal elections.
However, the video was clipped, making the claim misleading.
A longer version of the video showed Mondal saying that the TMC would secure a majority and that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would barely get 15-16 seats.
Read our fact-check here.
2. Do These Images Show White House Shooting Suspect Cole Allen’s Indian Wife? No!
A photo of suspected gunman Cole Tomas Allen — who reportedly fired shots during the White House correspondents' dinner — with a woman is being circulated on the internet to claim that it shows his Indian wife named 'Priyanka Rao'.
Along with this, a purported image of Rao's Indian passport is also going viral as the supporting evidence.
Team WebQoof found that both images were generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. The alleged passport of Rao had several discrepancies, which clearly showed that it was fake.
Read our detailed fact-check here.
3. Clip of TMC's Byron Biswas Talking About Candidates Shared With Misleading Claim
A video of TMC's Byron Biswas was being shared on social media, claiming that he had openly accepted defeat and was naming candidates and seats where his party was going to lose.
The claim was shared by BJP West Bengal's official X handle, as well as their IT Cell Head Amit Malviya.
However, the claim is false. A longer version of the video revealed that Biswas was alleging foul play after a CCTV malfunction in the EVM strongroom in Jangipur.
Read our fact-check here.
4. Old Video Shared as Police Beating TMC Workers During 2026 West Bengal Elections
A video of police personnel slapping and lathi-charging two men sitting on the side of a road is going viral on social media platforms with users linking it to the ongoing West Bengal assembly elections.
However, we were able to trace the video back to 2023 and it has no connection to the recent elections in the state.
You can read our fact-check here.
5. This Video of JCO Tendering His Resignation Citing Negligence Is Manipulated
A video is doing the rounds on social media with a claim that it purportedly shows an Army Air Defence Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) tendering his resignation citing government negligence over casualties during Operation Sindoor.
It claimed that he spoke about their lives having no value, as he lost 300 of his comrades and that the "Indian government did not even acknowledge their deaths. In one year, more than three officers from my unit have resigned, and today, I am making this decision as well."
The claim is false. The video has actually been manipulated using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and does not carry real remarks.
You can read our fact-check 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 webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)