From misinformation around Sambhal violence to the recently concluded Maharashtra elections and businessman Gautam Adani's indictment in the United States of America, here are top five viral pieces of fake news we debunked this week.
1. No, Congress' Kunal Patil Did NOT Get Zero Votes in 2024 Maharashtra Polls
A video showing a small group gathering at a location is circulating on social media.
The video is being circulated along with Marathi text that roughly translates to "Awadhan village, in a village, Kunal Baba has received 0 votes even though 70 per cent of the people work in his organisation."
The claim refers to Kunal Rohidas Patil, the candidate from the Indian National Congress (INC), who was defeated by Raghavendra Patil, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate in Dhule Rural, Maharashtra.
However, this claim is false. Patil received 1,057 votes across four polling booths in Awadhan.
A post on X by the district's Electoral Registration Officer's confirmed that Patil got 227 votes at booth 247, 234 at booth 248, 252 at booth 249, and 344 votes at booth 250. A total of 1057 votes were cast for Patil.
You can read the full story here.
2. Fact-Check: Old, Unrelated Video Shared As Recent Visuals From Sambhal Violence
A video showing police personnel thrashing people with sticks is being shared on social media with a claim that the visuals are from the recent violence in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh.
The claim is false. The video dates back to 2019, when the police in Gorakhpur, UP clashed with people protesting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Read the fact-check here.
3. Does This Image Show Gautam Adani Being Arrested? No, It’s AI-Generated!
An image of businessman Gautam Adani being held by security personnel is going viral on the internet to claim that he has been arrested following his indictment in the United States of America.
However,the image has been generated using the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools.
Read the story here.
4. Old, Unrelated Images Shared as ‘Vote Jihad’ in 2024 Maharashtra Elections
When Maharashtra was voting for the assembly elections on 20 November, a post containing two photos of women wearing burqas and hijabs became went viral online.
A post on X, featuring these pictures were posted as alleged proof of 'Vote Jihad' in Maharashtra. The user also encouraged the Hindu community to participate in voting in significant numbers.
However, both images are old and unrelated to the present elections. They date back to 2019. The first image is from Maharashtra and the second, Andhra Pradesh.
Read here.
5. Does This Image Show Controversial Evangelist Courney’s Wife? No, Claim Is False
A set of two images circulating online purport to show Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, alongside controversial evangelist Daniel Stephen Courney's wife. Those sharing them claimed links between the Congress party and Courney.
However, the claims are false. The woman in the image was identified as a Congress worker named Anusha Pullaiah.
Pullaiah confirmed that she is unmarried and that she has registered a First Information Report (FIR) about the posts.
Read 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.)