CLAIM
A video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi eating samosas in a helicopter was shared by Madhu Purnima Kishwar with the claim that the video is from his ‘aerial survey of flood affected areas in Kerala.’
The video was viewed over 10,000 times within one hour of her sharing the tweet.
The archived version of the tweet can be viewed here.
TRUE OR FALSE?
The claim, along with the video, is false. The video is not from Rahul Gandhi’s aerial survey of the Kerala floods, but from his election campaign in Uttar Pradesh, and dates back to April this year.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
While scrolling through the comments on Kishwar’s tweet, we found that a Twitter user had shared a YouTube video, uploaded on 23 April, which was titled, ‘Rahul Gandhi Sitting in Helicopter in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh.’
We also found that ABP News had uploaded this video on its YouTube channel in April, claimed it was from Rahul Gandhi’s election campaign in Uttar Pradesh ahead of Lok Sabha election 2019.
PREVIOUS GOOF-UPS BY KISHWAR
In March, writer MadhuPurnima Kishwar had tweeted a post, claiming that the manifesto of DMK for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was anti-Hindu in stance and that page 85 and 112 of the document stated that people occupying temple lands would be regularised, their ownership transferred and that encroached Wakf lands would be reclaimed and handed back to the body.
However, DMK’s manifesto did not even have a page 85 or a page 112, since it was a 76-page document. The DMK Spokesperson Manuraj S had then clarified that the tweets were fake, pointing out that the 2019 manifesto had no pages 85 and 112.
In May 2018, Kishwar slammed the Jammu and Kashmir police and Director General of Police Shesh Paul Vaid for “playing doormat to jihadi politicians.” Referring to Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani’s encounter, she had alleged that Vaid actually suspended the Jammu and Kashmir superintendent of police for killing Wani in 2016, as Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was upset about the encounter.
Kishwar named Sushil Pandit as the source of her information. When contacted, Madhu Kishwar had told The Quint,“I am quoting a source and I didn’t say that I know it. I said I was shocked to know from Sushil Pandit.”
However, Kishwar had seemed displeased at the question over the credibility of the information she shared, and asked The Quint to seek a clarification from the source she named.
Refuting Kishwar’s claim, Jammu and Kashmir police had then said that the information shared was “concocted.” Expressing shock, they said that no such suspension had taken place.
In February 2018, Kishwar had shared an edited picture of a truck which carried a signboard cautioning other vehicles from blowing the horn since "the Modi govt was asleep," with the hashtag #WorldSleepDay.
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