WebQoof Recap: Of Child Lifting Rumours and Media Misreporting

Here's a recap of all the misinformation that went viral on the internet this week.

Here's your weekly recap of top five fact-checks that we did.

(Photo: Deeksha Malhotra/The Quint)

From mainstream media misreporting around the child lifting rumours where a video from Madhya Pradesh's Raisen was passed off as an incident from Maharashtra, to giving a false sectarian spin to a clip showing people destroying crates of tomatoes in Pakistan, here's a round-up of all misinformation that went viral this week. 

1. News Outlets Give False Sectarian Spin to Clip of Pak Farmers Throwing Tomatoes

After nationwide floods in Pakistan which pushed the country into deep chaos, international aids were sent to the country to ease the crisis. Several news outlets shared a video claiming that people from Pakistan rejected the aid of Iran and were destroying the tomatoes sent by the latter as it was a Shia-dominated (a sect in Islam) country.

In the video, people were seen picking up crates of tomatoes from the back of a tempo and throwing them on the group. The video was widely shared by news outlets such as Firstpost, OneIndia, and Zee News.

However, we found that the claim was false. While the video was from the Balochistan region of Pakistan, crates of imported Iranian tomatoes were destroyed as people feared losses for their own crops, which were to be sold in the domestic markets.

You can read our fact-check here.

2. Video of Thieves Disguised As Monks Shared As Child Kidnappers Being Beaten

A 30-second video which shows some people beating up a few men dressed as monks with sticks has gone viral across social media platforms claiming that the monks were – in reality – child kidnappers and were apprehended by locals.

However, we found that the claim was false. The incident is from Madhya Pradesh’s Raisen, where some thieves disguised themselves as Sadhus and tried to steal jewellery from locals of the Polaha village.

All six thieves belonged to Uttar Pradesh, and they were beaten up and then handed over to the police on 6 August.

Read our fact-check here.

3. Photo Showing PM Modi's Portrait at Ahmedabad Rickshaw Driver's Home Is Doctored

During the two-day visit of Gujarat, Delhi Chief Minister and the national conveyor of the Aam Aadmi Party, Arvind Kejriwal addressed a gathering of autorickshaw drivers in Ahmedabad. After his address, he received a request from one of the drivers, Vikram Dantani, to have dinner at his home. The CM accepted the request.

Following the visit, a picture of the Dantani’s residence where a portrait of PM Narendra Modi can be seen hanging on the wall was shared to claim that even he supports the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The claim is false.

(Source: The Quint)

However, we found the picture was doctored. A picture uploaded on Kejriwal’s official Twitter handle shows somebody else’s portrait hanging on the wall and not of Modi. The picture was uploaded on 12 September.

Read our fact-check here.

4. 2009 Video Shared as Children Reciting 'Shlokas' at Queen Elizabeth II's Funeral

After the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September, a video which showed some children reciting shlokas (Hindu poetic verses) at London’s Buckingham Palace is being widely shared that the clip is from the funeral of the Queen.

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

However, we found the video is from October 2009. While the clip indeed shows children reciting shlokas at the Buckingham Palace, but it was from the Commonwealth Games The Queens Baton Relay 2010.

Read our fact-check here.

5. Old Photo of a Nearly Empty Theatre Falsely Linked to Brahmastra’s Screening

Following the ‘Boycott Bollywood’ trend and controversies surrounding the lead actors, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt of the film Brahmastra, an old image was shared falsely linking to the release of the aforementioned film. The viral image showed a handful of people in a movie theatre.

The claim mentioning only a few people were present during movie screening of Brahmastra along with the photo is false.

(Source: The Quint)

However, we found that the picture is from Noida’s Carnival Cinemas, which was captured in 2020 amid the Unlock 5 phase of the coronavirus pandemic.

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 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at [e-mail] and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)