Ram Mandir, G20 & Elections: How Disinformation is Created Around Planned Events

Old videos resurface and new communal claims are formulated during planned events in India.

"Within every elaborate lie, a kernel of truth," Marisha Pessl wrote in her novel Night Film.

This is the very basis of all the fake narratives that spread around significant events. Take, for example, the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya. The truth, in this case, is the ceremony, but bad actors have spent hours on the internet building elaborate fake narratives around the ceremony.

'Mandir waha nahi banaya gaya' (The temple is not being built at the site of the demolition), 'new Rs 500 notes were issued for Ram Mandir' were some pieces of misinformation that viral on social media platforms amid the preparations of consecration ceremony

There were also some repetitive claims, albeit differently-worded, being spread to further a single narrative on the internet. A study published in Nature said that people some peripheral cues as signals for truth, which can increase with repetition.

It mentioned that "repetition increases belief in both misinformation and facts." This illusory truth factor can even persist in an individual after the first exposure despite contradictory evidence.

But was this the first time misinformation was spread around an important event? Not really. The Quint has previously debunked several old, unrelated, and altered visuals being linked to events, such as the 2023 ICC Men's World Cup, G20 Summit, Elections, and Bharat Jodo Yatra.

How were fake narratives spread over the course of these events? How was misleading content targeting a leader peddled, and how is altered media shared on social media platforms? The story will look to answer these questions, highlight common points, and more.

‘Mandir Waha Nahi Banaya Gaya’: How Communal Narratives Are Built Around Events

A recent claim about the Ram Temple not being built at the demolition site of the Babri Masjid went viral on social media platforms.

Several social media users shared a screenshot of Google Maps, saying that the opposition parties should take this up with the ruling government. Leaders of opposition parties such as Congress' Digvijaya Singh and Shiv Sena's (UBT) Sanjay Raut shared similar claims.

However, The Quint found that the viral claim was false and the place where 'Babar Masjid' is pinned actually showed a temple named 'Shri Sita Ram Temple'.

Similarly, an image of a man wearing a skull cap and touching the idol of Lord Ram was shared with a caption that said, "These Sanghis could not find a single sculptor among the 110 crore Hindus. And these people want to create a Hindu Rashtra."

Team WebQoof found that the image was from 2019 and showed a man named Saddam Hussein cleaning idols kept at a Ram temple in Bengaluru's Rajajinagar, ahead of the Ramnavami festival.

Similar communally charged claims around G20 summit: As India was gearing up to host the G20 summit in Delhi, a video of a traditional Chehlum procession was shared claiming that it shows Muslims engaging in 'communal sloganeering'.

Social media users said that this procession took place despite Section 144 – which prohibits the assembly of four or more people – being imposed in Delhi and even though the Shobha Yatra for Janmashtami was cancelled.

What happened after Congress' victory in Karnataka elections?: After Congress won the 2023 Karnataka assembly elections, several communally charged claims went viral blaming the party for the incidents.

For example - A distressing video of a man slaughtering a cow on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) flag was shared as a recent incident from Karnataka. However, we found the video dated back to 2022 and was from Manipur.

A Recurring Theme: Old, Unrelated Videos Falsely Linked to Events

Social media users shared a video claiming that it showed around 25,000 'Havan Kunds' (scared fire pits) being prepared for the inauguration of the Ram Temple.

Team WebQoof found that the video was actually from Varanasi and showed the fire pits made for the Yagya (sacrifice) held in the Swaraveda Temple.

Another video from Varanasi showing hundreds of toilets being constructed was falsely linked to Ayodhya, where users said that the video showed sanitary preparations made for those visiting the temple.

Old video of cricketers linked to the World Cup: An altered image of Australian cricketer Travis Head went viral claiming that he "cheated" while catching the ball during the final match of the World Cup.

Soon after this, several videos of Indian cricketers namely Rohit Sharma, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Irfan Pathan reacting to the viral image were being shared.

However, we found that all these videos were old and unrelated to the World Cup. Additionally, Head's photograph was edited to make the fake claim.

Old visuals shared ahead of MP elections: Ahead of Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, a video of Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav waving to a huge crowd at a rally went viral as a recent one from the state.

But the video dated back to 2021 and showed him attending the Samajwadi Vijay Yatra held by SP for the 2022 UP Assembly elections.

Did Netherlands PM mop the floor during G20 summit?: Social media users shared a video of Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte spilling his drink and then mopping the floor linking it to the G20 summit.

However, neither the video was recent nor was it related to India or G20 summit. The video was from 2018 and showed Rutte cleaning the floor in a lobby of the Dutch Parliament building.

Fake Claims Shared To Take a Dig at Leaders

Recently, a video of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stepping out of a vehicle to criticise people raising 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans went viral on the internet.

The video was shared without context. We found that the incident took place in May 2019, when some people raised the slogan in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas.

Similarly, a fake screenshot was shared to target Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal claiming that he had shared a post about ending his life before the construction of Ram Temple is completed.

PM Modi ignored Cummins during World Cup?: In November 2023, a video targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi had gone viral, which was being shared to claim that he had ignored Australian cricket team captain Pat Cummins after handing him the trophy, when the team won the World Cup.

However, the video was clipped and was shared with a false claim. PM Modi had shook hands with Cummins after handing over the trophy.

Unrelated video of Chouhan linked to elections: After BJP announced Mohan Yadav as the new chief minister for Madhya Pradesh, a video went viral which showed Shivraj Singh Chouhan breaking down in front of people.

Those sharing the video claiming that Chouhan had been "betrayed" by PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Unsurprisingly, the video was old and was being shared with a false claim to take a dig at the leaders.

New Rs 500 Notes Being Issued on 22 January?: How Altered Content Rocked Social Media

A social media post carrying two pictures of Rs 500 notes with images of Lord Ram, the Ram Temple, and a bow and arrow, was going viral with users claiming that the notes will be issued on 22 January.

Team WebQoof found that the image was altered and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) spokesperson who dismissed the claim.

After the final match of the World Cup, an altered video was being shared to claim that it shows around 1.5 lakh people singing the Hanuman Chalisa at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Gujarat.

Mayawati supporting BJP/Congress? No, wait!: A video was shared on the internet claiming that Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati has extended her support to the BJP in MP elections.

Another video went viral claiming that she is supporting Congress in the elections. But which of these videos were true? None, actually. Both the videos were altered and were shared with false claims.

Bharat Jodo Yatra & Rahul Gandhi: A picture of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi showing him eating dry fruits and chicken with what appeared to be a glass of alcohol was shared to take a dig at him.

As it turned out that the image was altered and could have been easily figured out looking at the inconsistencies in the image. However, this might no longer be the case. You may ask how?

Well, the advent of deepfakes and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have improved the quality of misinformation going viral. This raises a huge concern especially as Indian and around half of the world is set to witness elections in 2024.

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