WebQoof Recap: Of Misinformation Around Ukraine Crisis and UP Elections
From misinformation around the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh to Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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From a picture showing Ukrainians faking injuries and sharing ‘anti-Russia propaganda’ to build a false narrative, to a video clip claiming that Government officials in UP stopped taking Yogi Adityanath's calls even before the election results were announced, here's a round-up of all that had misled the public this week.
1. UP Police Didn't Arrest Vaishali Yadav for Making a 'Fake' Video From Ukraine
A photo of a woman surrounded by police personnel was shared on social media with a claim that she is Vaishali Yadav, gram pradhan (village head) in Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh, who has been arrested for making a 'fake' video asking the government to evacuate her from Ukraine.
Earlier, a video of Vaishali, requesting the Indian government to evacuate her from the war-torn country, was being massively shared on social media claiming that she is not in Ukraine and that she made a fake video to defame the Indian government's rescue operation. However, she shared her live location with The Quint which showed that she was in Romania, bordering Ukraine.
The Quint's WebQoof team found that the woman in the post is Kamala Chaudhary, who was arrested by Nagaur police in Rajasthan on 3 March after she posted pictures of her firing bullets on social media. Uttar Pradesh police, too, tweeted stating that claims that say she is Vaishali Yadav are wrong.
Read the detailed fact-check here.
2. Clipped Video Shared to Claim UP CMO Stopped Taking Yogi Adityanath’s Calls
A video of a news bulletin showing Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath speaking about phone call etiquettes was shared to claim that government officials in UP stopped taking Yogi Adityanath's calls even before the election results were announced.
However, the video is from 2020 and is clipped. The full video shows Yogi Adityanath reprimanding officials and the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for not answering or returning phone calls of legislators.
Read the detailed fact-check here.
3. BTS Clip From Ukrainian TV Show Shared to Push 'Fake War in Ukraine' Narrative
A video of makeup being applied onto a girl and a boy to fake cuts and injuries is being shared widely on social media to claim that the Ukrainian side is faking injuries and sharing ‘anti-Russia propaganda’ to build a false narrative.
However, we found that the video shows behind-the-scenes footage of a 2020 Ukrainian television series ‘Contamin’.
We also found a photograph of the boy, who was getting his makeup applied in the video, which was shared by a crew member of the TV series.
Read the detailed fact-check here.
4. Old Clip of Polish Politician on Accepting Refugees Linked to Russia-Ukraine War
A video of a Polish leader, Dominik Tarczyński, talking about not accepting "illegal Muslim immigrants" is being linked to the ongoing war between Russia-Ukraine.
In the video, the leader on being questioned about accepting refugees says, "If you're asking me about Muslim illegal immigration then none," adding that Poland took over two million (20 lakh) Ukrainians, who are working.
However, we found that the statement is not recent. The clip is from an interview, conducted by a British news TV outlet, Channel 4, in June 2018, in which Tarczyński spoke about migration and refugees, and made this statement.
Read the detailed fact-check here.
5. Old Video From Moscow Shared as Recent ‘Anti-War’ Protest in Russia
A video of a large crowd of people assembled on the streets in protest is being widely shared on social media platforms, claiming to show protests against the Ukraine war in Moscow, Russia.
However, the video actually shows pro-Navalny protests in Moscow and has been on the internet since January 2021. The people had stepped onto the streets to support Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who had been imprisoned after he returned from Germany, following medical treatment.
Read the detailed 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 webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)
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