WebQoof Recap: Of Misinformation Around Ukraine Crisis and UP Polls

From the Russia-Ukraine crisis to the 2022 Uttar Pradesh polls, here's a round-up of all that misled the public this week.

(Photo: Chetan Bhakuni/The Quint)

From false claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin had warned "India against interfering" as Russia invaded Ukraine, to Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav sharing a video claiming "booth capturing in Kunda" as the Uttar Pradesh elections are underway, here's a round-up of all that had misled the public this week.

1. No, Putin Didn't 'Warn India' Against Interfering in Ukraine Conflict

A screenshot of news channel CNN is doing the rounds on social media to claim that amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin had warned "India against interfering" or "be ready to face the consequence."

The claim comes in the backdrop of Putin warning countries, stating that any interference would lead to "consequences greater than any in the history."

A comparison between the viral bulletin and the original bulletin.

(Source: CNN/Facebook/Altered by The Quint)

We found out that it was an altered snippet from a video published on CNN on 12 November 2019. The bottom text in the original image read, 'Top Russian Official Jokes About Interfering in US Elections in 2020.' It was replaced with 'India should not interfere, otherwise be ready to face the consequences.'

You can read our fact-check here.

2. No, Vaishali Yadav Wasn't 'Pretending' To Be Stuck in Ukraine Amid the War

A video of a girl, who identifies herself as a student of National Medical University in Ukraine, requesting the Indian government to evacuate her from the war-torn country, is being massively shared on social media claiming that she is Vaishali Yadav, gram pradhan (village chief) of Hardoi and daughter of a Samajwadi Party (SP) leader.

The claim adds that she is not in Ukraine and that she made a fake video to defame the Indian government's rescue operation.

While it is true that Vaishali is a gram pradhan and her father is a member of the SP, the video she made wasn't fake. She shared her live location with The Quint which showed that she was in Romania, bordering Ukraine.

You can read our fact-check here.

3. This Video Shows Climate Protest in Vienna, Not 'Fake Dead Ukrainians'

A video that shows a journalist reporting and several bodies wrapped in disposable bags lined behind him, among which, one body was moving, is being shared on social media claiming that "Ukrainians were faking their deaths," as the country is ravaged by war.

Although fact-checked, the video shared by businessman Arun Pudur on Twitter still remains, with over one lakh views at the time of writing this article.

An archive of the tweet can be seen here.

(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

We found that the clip was from a demonstration against climate policy in Austria's capital Vienna. The video was published in an Austria-based media outlet 'OE24' on 4 February.

You can read our fact-check here.

4. Only Air India Flight Could Enter Ukraine's Closed Airspace? No!

A photograph showing the flight path of an Air India flight AI121 has gone viral claiming that the Indian airline was the only one to be brave enough to enter Ukraine's airspace, which has been closed for all civilian flights since 24 February.

The video was also shared by the managing editor of News18 India, Amish Devgan.

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

However, we found that the flight mentioned on the map didn't enter Ukraine's airspace. The flight path available on flight-tracking websites shows that the flight, which travels between Delhi and Frankfurt, had avoided Ukraine's airspace.

You can read our fact-check here.

5. Akhilesh Yadav Shares Old Video Falsely Claiming 'Booth Capturing' in UP's Kunda

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav shared a video that showed a man voting on behalf of three women in a polling booth claiming that it showed 'booth capturing in Kunda', as the Uttar Pradesh polls are underway.

An archive of the tweet can be seen here.

(Source: Wayback Machine/Screenshot)

We found that the video was taken inside a polling booth at Asaoti in Prithla, Haryana's Faridabad Lok Sabha seat, during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

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.)