From Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath incorrectly stating that the state rose to the second position in the economy only under his government to social media users falsely claiming that the survivor in the Shahdara assault case had died by suicide, here's what misled people in this week.
1. UP's GSDP Grew Only Under Yogi Adityanath's Tenure? Data Doesn't Back This Claim
Speaking at a press conference at the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Lucknow office on Friday, 3 February, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath claimed that it was his government that managed to bring UP's economy to the second position in the country.
He also said that the state had been at the sixth or seventh position from 1947 to 2017.
However, we found that the statement made by the CM is misleading as the data published by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) shows that Uttar Pradesh has been in the top 5 states at least since 2012, ie even before Adityanath was elected as the UP chief minister.
We even looked at the data prior to 2011-2012 (with base year 2004-2005) and found that UP was at the second position after Maharashtra from 2004-2005 to 2009-2010.
Read the full story here.
2. Shahdara Assault Case: Amid Rumours, Police Confirm Girl Hasn't Died By Suicide
Days after a 20-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped, gang-raped, beaten up and paraded in Delhi’s Shahdara, a post doing the rounds on the internet claimed that the girl had died by suicide.
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)
However, speaking to The Quint, DCP (Shahdara) R Sathiyasundaram said that the social media posts are false and the girl was safe.
In a video statement, Sathiyasundaram also clarified that some people are trying to give the incident a communal angle by sharing the name of the survivor but the information is ‘blatantly false.’
Read the full story here.
3. No, the Axe Insignia on Army Tanks Wasn't Added After 2014
Days after the Republic Day Parade, a photograph was being shared on social media, where users have highlighted a golden battle axe insignia on the tank's surface.
The photograph was shared to claim that the Modi government is giving Hinduism recognition on every front, as the insignia depicts Parshurama's axe.
An archived versionof this claim can be seen here.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
However, we found that the insignia is of the 12th Infantry Division, or the Battle Axe division of the Indian Army. A golden battle axe emblazoned on a black background has been the division's symbol since at least 2013, as we spotted the same in a video of the 2013 Republic Day parade.
Read the full story here.
4. Did 'The Simpsons' Predict Truckers' Rally in Canada? Not Quite!
A 20-second video from the popular animated American sitcom 'The Simpsons' was shared on social media with the claim that the show predicted the truckers' rally in Canada following which the country's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family moved to a safe location.
The video was linked to the 'Freedom Convoy' protests being held in in Canada's capital Ottawa to protest against a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
An archive of the tweet can be seen here.
(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)
However, we found that the video that is being shared is edited and it doesn't show 'The Simpsons' predicting the rally.
Parts of two different episodes, from two different seasons were stitched together and shared to make the misleading claim.
Read the full story here.
5. Viral Photo Showing BSP Posters Along Lucknow Metro Line Is Fake
A photo of hoardings at a metro platform which carry Hindi text, "With BSP's rule of law, women are safe from today" was shared on social media, to claim that the posters had been put up along the Lucknow Metro line, pre-emptively celebrating the Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP's) victory in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections.
An archived version of this post can be seen here.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
However, we found that the claim is false. A member of the BSP IT Cell told The Quint that no such posters had been put up anywhere.
We also conducted a reverse image search and found blank photos of the hoardings published on Adobe's creative social media platform Behance.
Read the full story here.
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