WebQoof Recap: Misinformation Around FIFA World Cup And More

Take a look at some of the most viral stories that we debunked this week.
Team Webqoof
WebQoof
Updated:

Weekly recap of misinformation. 

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(Photo: Aroop Mishra/The Quint)

<div class="paragraphs"><p>Weekly recap of misinformation.&nbsp;</p></div>
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Here's a recap of some of the most viral claims this week.

1. Media Houses Share Old Video as 'Recent Incident of Flogging in Afghanistan'

Several media organisations such as NDTV, News18, Outlook, among others, shared a video of a woman being flogged in public as a recent incident from Afghanistan under the Taliban.

They included a tweet by user Shabnam Nasimi and shared the video to claim that the woman was flogged for stepping out for shopping without a male guardian.

An archive of this tweet can be seen here.

However, the video is an old one.

While we were unable to independently verify the location of the video, we found that it has been on the internet since at least 2018 and did not show a recent incident.

Read our fact-check here.

2. Fact-check: Old Images Used to Push Claim About Rape and Murder in Assam

A set of three disturbing photographs, of what appears to be a dead body inside a freezer, were shared on social media with a communal claim, that the pictures were of a woman who was killed by a person called 'Gaffar' in Assam.

The claim went viral on social media.

But we traced the photos back to a blog post from 2010, about a gruesome murder in Brazil's Greater São Paola area.

Moreover, Assam Police's verified Twitter account called the claim "fake," and said that no such incident took place in Assam.

Read our fact-check here.

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3. Zee News Shares Prank Video as Real Incident of Person Urinating on Food

Hindi news organisation Zee News Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand shared a video, which showed a man seemingly urinating in a container of Indian sweets.

The outlet claimed that it showed the man doing so on food prepared for a wedding.

An archive of this tweet can be seen here.

But, we found longer versions of the video which showed him holding a bottle of liquid near his groin to make it look like he was urinating on food. Zee News Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand aired a prank video as that of a real incident.

Read our fact-check here.

4. Satirical Post From 2018 Viral as Real Advert by Pakistan on FIFA World Cup Ball

A graphic with the text, "Dear World, thank you for playing with our balls," went viral on social media, where users claimed that it showed an advertisement by the Pakistan government outside match venues at the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The government of Pakistan has not put out such an advertisement.

However, we were able to trace back a similar graphic to 2018.

The graphic shows the ball Telestar, which was the official ball for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, whereas Al-Rihla is the official one for this World Cup.

Read our fact-check here.

5. Are These Photos of Students Who Wrote 'Anti-Brahmin Slogans' in JNU? Nope.

A collage of photos, showing three injured people went viral on the internet, claiming that it showed the people who wrote anti-Brahmin slogans on the walls on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi.

Social media users claimed that it showed three students who were beaten up for writing the slogans.

An archive of this post can be seen here.

However, the people in the collage were members of the 'Campaign Against State Repression' (CASR), a collective of several organisations, who were allegedly attacked by Akhil Bharti Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in Delhi and is not related to the anti-Brahmin slogans matter.

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 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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Published: 09 Dec 2022,12:33 PM IST

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