“किसी को ये शाहरुख हकला दिखे तो बोलना कि 5 साल होने को आ गए, अभी तक भारत क्यों नही छोड़ा इसने (If anyone comes across this stammerer Shah Rukh Khan, tell him that it’s been 5 year, why hasn’t he left India?),” read a post by Facebook page I Support Narendra Bhai Modi Bjp (@bjpalindia).
The above caption was affixed to a purported screenshot of a Sudarshan News broadcast which showed a ‘tweet’ by Shah Rukh Khan, saying, “If Modi becomes Prime Minister, I will not only leave Twitter but also leave India.” This post drew over 2,500 shares at the time of writing this article.
Another Facebook page BJP Khargone Barwani shared the identical post, which drew over 1,100 shares. A few individual users on Facebook also circulated the alleged tweet by the Bollywood actor.
Morphed Tweet
A 2014 photoshopped tweet attributed to Shah Rukh Khan gave birth to the claims viral on social media.
The tweet (now deleted) was made by a parody Twitter handle @jamsrk. If one zooms in on the tweet, the ‘j’ instead of an ‘i’ can be made out.
At around 10 am on May 18, 2014, actor Kamal Rashid Khan (KRK) had tweeted if there was any truth behind the statement made by Shah Rukh Khan.
After the fake tweet was widespread, Khan put out a clarification on May 19, 2014, at around 12:30 am that it wasn’t him who made the statement.
Later, KRK claimed that it was his statement – “Ppl pls note I only said tat I will leave India if Modi Ji will become PM I have left India. SRK Salman or Aamir didn’t say anything at all.”
The incident was also reported by the media, including Hindustan Times and The Times of India and Deccan Chronicle.
Misinformation Spread by Sudarshan News
Alt News was unable to locate the Sudarshan News screengrab presently viral on social media. However, the media outlet indeed broadcast a show on the fake tweet, and it was anchored by its Editor-in-Chief Suresh Chavhanke.
Sudarshan News had also tweeted about that the same day – “Sudarshan News’ Chief Editor Suresh Chavhanke’s attack on Shah Rukh Khan (translated).”
This wasn’t an isolated instance when the media outlet spread misinformation. Alt News has found several cases in the past when Sudarshan News and its Chief Managing Director Suresh Chavhanke circulated fake news, often communal in nature.
(This article was first published in Alt News and has been republished here with due permission.)
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