Vir Das’ Middle Name Isn’t Abdullah, Edited Wikipedia Page Goes Viral

We found that the comedian's Wikipedia page was edited to add a middle name and change his nationality.

The viral post shows an edited version of the comedian's Wikipedia page, which has now been corrected.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A screenshot of comedian Vir Das' Wikipedia page is going viral across social media, which shows Das' middle name as 'Abdullah'. The photo is being widely shared after Das uploaded a video titled 'I come from two Indias', which caused controversy.which caused controversy.

However, we found that Vir Das' Wikipedia page was edited to add the name 'Abdullah' at the beginning on the article. The archived version, as well as the corrected version of the page, do not reflect this name.

Additionally, Team WebQoof also saw that other sections of the page had also been edited to include offensive statements, but were later changed back to their original version.

CLAIM

The screenshot of comedian Vir Das' Wikipedia page was shared, which showed his full name as 'Vir Abdullah Das'. Social media users shared the photo believing it to be real, reacting negatively to the edited content.

An archived version of this post can be seen here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

More claims across Facebook can be seen here and here, while those on Twitter can be accessed here, here, and here.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

We checked the comedian's Wikipedia page and found that it reflected his name as 'Vir Das'. However, as per the page's revision history, more than 20 edits were made to the page on 17 November alone.

The revision page shows at least 20 edits on 17 November.

(Source: Wikipedia/Screenshot)

Some edited versions are now unavailable for public access. Quint Hindi also debunked the same claim, and had photographs comparing additions to Das' Wikipedia page.

Quint Hindi also reported that the page had been edited to add words.

(Source: Quint Hindi)

On comparing the difference between two revisions, Quint Hindi found that the name 'Abdullah' had been added as Das' middle name and that his nationality had been changed to 'Nigerian' instead of Indian.

We then looked for information regarding the comedian's parents and found a Wall Street Journal story published in 2019 on Das' life, which noted his mother's name as Madhur and father's name as Ranu.

We also found a 2011 report by India Today, which called the comedian 'Vir Saran Das'.

Additionally, we found that entertainment company 'Weirdass Comedy Private Limited' was registered under one Vir Saran Das' name as its director in 2016 on ZaubaCorp, a website which records commercial information about companies.

Further, we found a 2016 tweet from Vir Das' verified Twitter account. Here, Das was responding to a fan's query regarding his middle name, clarifying that he had one and it was 'Saran'.

Many sources show that the comedian's actual middle name is Saran.

(Source:Twitter/Screenshot)

Clearly, comedian Vir Das' Wikipedia page was altered to add the word 'Abdullah' as his middle name and had many other changes after his video comparing the positives and negatives of India sparked controversy.

(With inputs from SM Hoax Slayer and Quint Hindi)

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