From misinformation around the ongoing Bihar assembly elections to an AI-manipulated video of Indian Army's Colonel Sofia Qureshi going viral, social media platforms were rife with such fake claims.
Read our weekly recap to find out the top five viral pieces of misinformation from this week.
1. Did Shah Say 'Didn’t Give Tickets to Muslims as They Don’t Vote for BJP'? No!
A video from an interview of Union Home Minister Amit Shah went viral with a claim that he was seen admitting that the BJP did not give tickets to Muslim candidates in Bihar elections because they don't vote for the party.
The post claimed that Shah made the statement as a response to Aaj Tak's Anjana Om Kashyap's question.
But the claim was incorrect.
The Home Minister did say that this isn't the first time that the party hasn't given tickets to Muslims.
However, he did not say that Muslims were denied tickets because they don't vote for the BJP.
You can read our fact-check here.
2. Old Video Falsely Shared as One From Mumbai After Indian Women’s World Cup Win
A video which showed people celebrating on the streets with flags and firecrackers was being shared as recent visuals from Maharashtra's Mumbai after the Indian team's victory at the ICC Women’s World Cup.
Team WebQoof found that the clip dated back to June 2024 and showed people celebrating the Indian men's cricket team's victory against South Africa in the T20 World Cup.
Read our full story here.
3. Video of Col Sofia Qureshi Calling Trishul Exercises ‘Political Gimmick’ Is Fake
A video of the Indian Army's Colonel Sofia Qureshi talking on a stage went viral on social media platforms with a claim that she spoke against the Trishul exercises and called it a "political gimmick".
The X user attributed a quote to Qureshi that said, ""These Trishul exercises are nothing but a political gimmick to sway the Bihar elections. I'm done being used as a prop for Muslim support. I can't stand the saffronization of the Indian Army"."
However, there is no evidence of Qureshi making such statements. We found that the video was manipulated using Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools.
You can read our fact-check here.
4. Did Congress’ Rahul Gandhi Say He Had Direct Connection With God? A Fact-Check
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi's video from a recent rally went viral on the internet to claim that he recently talked about having a direct connection with the God.
The 15-seconds-long clip showed Gandhi saying, "I don't get any illnesses, I have a direct connection from the above. I talk directly to the God."
The video had been clipped to mislead viewers. We found that a longer video showed the Congress leader taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a rally in Bihar's Darbhanga.
Read our full story here.
5. Fact-Check: Images of Bangladeshi Actress Viral With False Love Jihad Claims
A set of two image, one showing a woman with burnt injuries on her face and the other of a couple labelled "Muslim" for the man and "Hindu" for the woman, was being circulated on social media platforms.
The user claimed that the image showed a Hindu woman named Nandini Mandal, who was assaulted by her Muslim partner, Abdul Khan.
However, the claim was false. Team WebQoof identified the woman as a Bangladeshi actor named Jounty Islam, who dismissed the love jihad claims on her official Facebook handle.
You can 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 9540511818 , 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.)