Fake Tweet About Brahmastra Cast Donating Funds For Pak Floods Goes Viral

There several inconsistencies in the tweet format which proves that the tweet is fake.

Fact-check: The claim states that BBC Hindi tweeted about Karan Johar, Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor donating money to Pakistan for flood relief.

(Photo: The Quint)

A screenshot of a tweet, purportedly by news channel British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Hindi, claims that Bollywood movie Brahmastra's producer Karan Johar donated five crores and the actors – Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor – have donated one crore each to flood-hit Pakistan.

The claim also states that they have promised to donate Rs 51 crores, if their movie is a hit.

This tweet comes as catastrophic floods have hit Pakistan, which have affected one-seventh of the country's population.

However, this is a fake tweet. There are several inconsistencies in the format which raised a red flag. Additionally, BBC Hindi also took to Twitter to clarify that they did not make any such claim.

CLAIM

The tweet in Hindi says, "Karan Johar, the producer of the film Brahmastra, came forward to help for the floods in Pakistan and donated five crores, while Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Kapoor donated one crore each. They also said that if their film is a hit, they will donate 51 crores. Bollywood is an example of humanity."

An archived version of the post can be seen here. 

(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

Similar posts can be seen here and here.

WHAT WE FOUND

We noticed several red flags in the format of the tweet which is now going viral.

On comparing it with Twitter web, TweetDeck, iOS, and Android, we noticed inconsistencies such as the time and date format. In the viral tweet, the date is mentioned as '1 Sep 22', which is not the format for any of the devices. Similarly, the time format is not consistent with the usual template.

Comparison of the date format of tweets made through different platforms.

(Source: The Quint)

We also noticed that the dots separating the time and date from each other are consistent in an actual tweet, but are missing from the viral tweet.

Further, the tweet misidentifies Ranbir Kapoor as 'Ranveer' Kapoor, the lead actor in the movie Brahmastra.

The screenshot also does not carry an option of translating the tweet even though the tweet is in Hindi language.

(Note: Swipe to see all the comparisons)

Both the platforms display an option of translating the tweet. 

Both the platforms display an option of translating the tweet. 

On checking BBC Hindi's Twitter account, we did not come across any such tweet about Pakistan flood but found a tweet that dismissed the claims and clarified that the screenshot going viral on social media is fake.

The tweet in Hindi read, "This tweet is fake and no such tweet or such news has been made by BBC Hindi."

Clearly, an edited screenshot was shared as a tweet made by BBC Hindi about the cast of Brahmastra donating a certain sum of money for Pakistan floods.

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