WebQoof Recap: Of Misinformation Around Karnataka Hijab Row & 5 State Elections

From false claims around the Karnataka hijab row to the five state Assembly elections, here's what people fell for.

WebQoof Recap: From false claims around the Karnataka hijab row to the five state Assembly elections. 

(Photo: The Quint)

From misinformation surrounding the Karnataka Hijab controversy to the five state Assembly elections, here's a round-up of all that misled people this week.

1. Tejasvi Surya's Claim About India's GDP Under BJP Falters on Data

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Bangalore South Tejasvi Surya on Wednesday, 9 February, made several claims about the economy of the country under the current BJP government and said that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the country had increased from Rs 110 lakh crore to Rs 230 lakh crore.

Surya's statements came as a response to several Opposition leaders' questions on the state of unemployment in the country. Surya claimed that unemployment too had gone down in the country under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

We, however, found that Surya's claim about the GDP was inaccurate in terms of absolute numbers and the implication that it grew at a faster rate than the Congress was also incorrect.

You can read our fact-check here.

2. Video From Karnataka Shared as West Bengal Police Attacking Pro-Hijab Protestors

A video showing police personnel using force to pick up protestors has gone viral on social media with a claim that it showed a crackdown on hijab-clad protestors by the West Bengal police.

The claim comes in the backdrop of a row that erupted in Karnataka in December 2021, when the Government Girls Pre-University College in Udupi barred six Muslim girls from entering classroom while wearing hijabs.

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

The viral video, however, was not from one of the protests. It showed the Karnataka police lathi-charging students and activists protesting against the National Education Police (NEP) in Bengaluru in September 2021.

You can read our fact-check here.

3. UP Polls: Clip of SP MLA Saying They Will Thrash Thakurs & Pandits Is Edited

A video showing Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Rajesh Yadav speaking at a gathering is being shared on social media platforms. In the video, Yadav is heard saying that if their party comes to power in Uttar Pradesh, Thakurs and Pandits will be chased and thrashed in the state.

But we found that the video had been edited. A part of the video has been placed before his statement on "thrashing hooligans" to project that he was speaking against Thakurs and Pandits.

Speaking to The Quint, Rajesh Yadav said that he didn't speak against any community but against those had worsened the state of the poor people in Uttar Pradesh.

4. Amid Hijab Row in Karnataka, Impostor Account of Muskan Khan Crops Up

With the video of Muskan Khan, the girl who had confronted a mob of saffron-clad boys chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' in Karnataka's Mandya, going viral, a Twitter profile in her name has surfaced.

At the time of writing the story, the account had amassed over 5,000 followers. The tweets posted by this account included one thanking 'Sikhs of Khalistan' for supporting her, another thanking the 'Taliban spokesperson' and one apologising to Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

An archive of the Twitter profile can be seen here.

(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

However, we found that the account is an imposter. The earlier account was in the name of one 'Aman Tweets' and the username was '@amantweets60'. The location of the account was mentioned as 'Pakistan' and the bio mentioned that it was an account of a 'social media activist Aman Ullah.'

You can read the full story here.

5. Brutal Murder of a Girl in Surat Shared With a False Communal Claim

(Trigger Warning: Description of the incident, given its heinous nature, can be triggering for some readers.)

A 23-second video of a boy holding a girl at knifepoint, while people around them can be heard asking him to let go of her, is being widely circulated on several social media platforms with a communal spin.

The claim goes on to identify the boy as a Muslim and states that he killed the girl as she 'refused to convert to Islam.'

However, the incident, which happened on the outskirts of Surat on 12 February, isn't a communal one – as is being projected. The boy, who has been identified as one Fenil Goyani (22), reportedly killed Grishma Vekariya (21) in front of her family.

You can 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.)