Category Archives: Fake News

NEWLY single Alex Rodriguez initially didn't believe his ex, Jennifer Lopez, was back with her ex-fiance, Ben Affleck.

He allegedly deemed the reports as "fake news," but now he's apparently "heartbroken" by her quick rebound.

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Sources told In Touch Weekly Arod is really heartbroken" about JLo's reported reunion with Ben Affleck.

They went on: Theres a lot of excitement for the return of Bennifer but not everyones rejoicing about the rekindled romance.

Alex may not be in the best position to judge, but he doesnt think Jen is making a good decision. He thought the stories of Jen being back with Ben were fake news.

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The insider went on saying the news of the return of Bennifer came as a shock to ARod, sharing: Jen getting back with Ben, after all these years, and with all the heartache she went through, is the last thing Alex expected.

[Alex] was holding out hope that Jen would take him back.

But, according to some of Jens friends, that ship has sailed. She tried to reconcile with Alex, and she just couldnt make it work. Shes not looking back; Alex is definitely in her rearview mirror.

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The source explained the bond between Jen and Ben is "real," noting: Theres no doubt that Jen and Ben have something special between them.

She knows what this looks like, and that the whole world is watching, but she doesnt care, she wouldnt do it if it wasnt real.

"Jen is doing what she always does when it comes to relationships shes following her heart.

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Meanwhile, Ben wed actress Jennifer Garner, 49, in 2005, with whom he shares daughters Violet, 15, Seraphina, 12, and son Samuel, nine, although they separated in 2015.

Jennifer shares 13-year-old twins Emme and Max, with her ex-husband Marc Anthony.

Alex and his ex-wife, Cynthia Scurtis, share daughters, Natasha, 16, and Ella, 13.

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JLo, 51, enjoyed a week-long getaway to Montana with Ben, 48, less than a month after announcing the end of her two-year engagement to Alex.

In new photos, the pair could be seen together in a car near a resort in Big Sky last week, where Ben has a home, and were then seen arriving back in Los Angeles on a private jet over the weekend.

A source close toAlextoldE! Newsthat he's"shocked thatJLohas moved on"so quickly.

JLo has been spending time with her former partner since breaking up with ARod afterrumors she couldn't trust him.

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ARod first believed ex JLos romance with Ben Affleck was fake news but now is heartbroken by her quick... - The Sun

The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Tuesday called out fake news doing rounds on various platforms regarding examination guidelines.

In view of the news circulating in print and digital media, it is clarified that UGC has not yet issued any guidelines on examination recently and the news is incorrect, read the official announcement. The commission released an official notice regarding the clarification.

Read | UGC asks higher education institutes to create COVID task force and helplines

It has come to the commissions notice that incorrect news regarding UGC guidelines on examination has been published in some print and digital media. UGC had issued guidelines on examination and academic calendar from time to time during last year. Further, UGC notification issued on May 6 has requested the universities to keep the offline exams in abeyance during the month of May 2021, the official notice read.

The commission on Monday had advised all higher education institutes (HEIs) to constitute COVID task force and helplines to help students and teachers amid the ongoingpandemic. The varsities have been directed to promote COVID appropriate behaviour including sanitisation, wearing masks, washing hands with soap and maintainingsocial distancing.

The UGC had earlier asked all higher educational institutes (HEIs) to not conduct any offline exams in May 2021. The commission hadreleased a circular regarding the announcementon its official website. The HEIs are also advised to assess the local conditions for conducting online exams.

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UGC issues clarification against fake news on examination guidelines - The Indian Express

Facebook has agreed to meet with South Africas Parliament over concerns around disinformation before South Africas 2021 local elections, the Communications and Digital Technologies Committee has said.

The meeting which was requested by the Democratic Alliance is set to take place on 25 May 2021.

Facebooks agreement to the meeting is historic and a source of pride for South Africa as a first in Africa, and one of a few countries in the world to successfully secure a meeting with Facebook, said DA MP Phumzile van Damme, who had issued the invitation.

We commend Facebook for agreeing to the meeting which we hope will be constructive.

Van Damme said the reason for inviting Facebook was to establish what steps the tech giant would be taking to tackle harmful misinformation, particularly in light of the upcoming elections.

Facebook often tailors plans for countries ahead of elections to guard against harmful misinformation, Van Damme said. We would like to see the same done for South Africa.

In September 2020, the social media company implemented measuress which it said were intended to help secure the integrity of the US elections by encouraging voting, connecting people with authoritative information, and reducing the risks of post-election confusion.

These included updates related to misinformation, COVID-19 and voter suppression, and a ban on new electoral, political, or social issue ads.

Van Damme said the protection of private data of South African users on Facebook-owned platforms would also form part of the meeting.

The DA MP was likely referring to concerns around WhatsApps new privacy policy among South Africans.

The implementation of the policy was delayed following heavy backlash from users earlier in 2021.

The aim of discussions with Facebook will be to ensure that the interests of the people of South Africa are protected as well as upholding the constitutional right to freedom of speech, Van Damme said.

She added the meeting will also be the beginning of discussions regarding Facebook paying South African media houses for carrying their content as was recently successfully implemented in Australia.

The DA has sent similar invitations to other big tech giants Google and Twitter.

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Facebook to meet with South Africas Parliament over privacy and fake news - MyBroadband

Tejasvi Surya made the charges of corruption earlier this week. (File)

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya has denied reports that he apologised to those working at a municipal COVID-19 war room in Bengaluru, after his allegations of what he called a "bed-blocking scandal" at his own party-controlled civic body took a communal turn.

"When one has no news, they create fake news," his office posted on Twitter, responding to two news reports that said he apologised to the 200 employees at the facility during a visit on Thursday evening. His account was contradicted by those present at the war room at the time.

Mr Surya had visited the facility on Tuesday and broadcast the video live, reading out the names of 17 Muslim employees who he accused of corruption in the allocation of hospital beds as the city and Karnataka struggles with a massive spike in COVID-19 infections.

A video of the incident showed the Bangalore South MP in the municipal Covid war room with three BJP MLAs, grilling officials. One of the MLAs, his uncle Ravi Subramanya is heard shouting, "Have you appointed them for the madrassa or the Corporation?"

Later, there is more offensive profiling from an MLA who said to a woman official, "Who is this person, Madam? How can he appoint 17 members like a Haj committee?"

Mr Surya says, "How did you choose them?" Then he adds that he is questioning only the qualifications of the man who made the selection.

After Tuesday's incident, names, phone numbers and addresses of the workers were spread on WhatsApp and social media from BJP-linked accounts with the caption: "List of people working in the BBMP War Room killing thousands of Bengalurians".

The incident has led to scores of the people who work in the war room facing harassment, including sexual harassment, according to reports. Some have reportedly had people showing up at their homes asking for hospital beds.

On Wednesday, searches were carried out by the police at the city corporation's war rooms. The police said they are also investigating the hospitals where four people were arrested for allegedly blocking beds with fake names for COVID-19 patients paying bribes. Seven people have been arrested in the case so far.

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"Fake News": Tejasvi Surya On Reports He Apologised For Bengaluru Bed Row - NDTV

Institute of National Security Studies, the premier think tank on national security established under the Ministry of Defence, organised a public lecture on Fake News: Apex Threat to National Security, as a virtual session on 6 May from 3-4:30 p.m.

Department of Government Information Director General

Mohan Samaranayake

The Guest Speaker of the occasion was Department of Government Information Director General Mohan Samaranayake. The Moderator, Director of Communication and Publication Rear Admiral Dimuthu Gunawardena, welcomed the guest speaker and took an approach towards the dialogue on the threats posed by the circulation of fake news. The event was opened to the public and valuable outputs were rendered by the audience, inclusive of representatives of government authorities, tri-forces, academia, journalists and other invitees.

The bottom-line of the discussion on fake news was trifold. Those include the revisiting into the definition of fake news focusing on its evolution up to the digital age, motives of the circulation of fake news and critically putting under a lens, the progress Sri Lanka achieved in the regulation of the said matter.

The guest speaker first set straight on the fact that fake news lacks a universally accepted definition, thus positioning fake news as a semantically contested concept. A broad definition was also provided which referred to fake news as false or misleading information which appears as credible, but in reality, are mere fabrications. Three scholarly established elements of fake news were also identified, namely creating mistrust, misinformation and manipulation. Apparently, the misuse of information is nothing novel, and dates back to ancient chapters of history. Such instances were false allegations spread against Lord Buddha, Marc Antony committing suicide following the spread of baseless rumours and the sensationalising of news by Joseph Pulitzer and William Hearst competing with each other as news agencies in New York, which was later referred by the phrase yellow journalism. As the term fake news, lost its meaning given the newer advancements of the digital age, scholars promoted the use of the term, false information.

Focusing on the motives behind the circulation of false information, the guest speaker pointed out several factors citing examples. The predominant motive was politically oriented, where false information was used as a weapon against regime change. Most of the regime change attempts on political leaders such as Viktor Yanukovych by the West during the cold war, was sparked by misuse of information. The speaker also pointed out the alleged misinformation campaign during the 2015 Presidential Election as another objective of fake news; seeking victory in elections.

Rather than disposing of fake news solely to the account of internet-based sources; social media, mainstream media was also assigned with a liability of being responsible in dissemination of misinformation, which has affected greatly for the losing of their credibility.

As to self-assess the credibility of information, the guest speaker proposed several factors such as detecting the credibility of the source, reading behind headline and critically viewing the content, checking for supportive sources and dates and assessing the authenticity of the author.

The discussion was also turned towards Sri Lankas commitment on battling fake news. In this regard, the most recent cabinet decision on social media regulation was considered highly debatable, and the consequent discussion revealed several crevices in the local system towards regulation of information. The Government does not have a specific institutional body solely in charge of regulating fake news. No studies were conducted as to propose policy options, hence no academically sound and politically viable regulatory measures were adopted on the misuse of information.

By concluding the lecture, Samaranayake brought up valuable outputs to the issue, which ranged from attitudinal transformation to policy formulation. Therein, the approach towards the matter was preferred to be both bottom-up, which focuses on increasing public awareness and top-down options which include introducing fact-checking mechanisms within the parliament itself, which is currently not in existence and the establishment of proper supervisory bodies.

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Mohan shares insights on 'Fake News: Apex threat to National Security' at INSS lecture - ft.lk

Dr. Edsel Maurice T. Salvana

More than one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, there is also an equally destructive and pernicious parallel epidemic of misinformation.

While scientists and experts meticulously choose their words backed up with sound data, purveyors of fake news boldly proclaim as gospel many half-truths and factoids taken out of context. Epistemic trespassing, where experts in one field readily dive into otherwise nuanced discussions and declare their opinions as facts, has misled many. Infectious diseases doctors and public health practitioners have been undermined by quacks and self-proclaimed experts, causing a lot of harm. This week, we address misinformation that continues to be shared on social media and online, sowing doubt and undercutting a proper science-based approach to COVID-19.

Unsupported statements from an email that has been circulating on mass testing are dissected, as well as some misinterpretation of newer developments on airborne transmission of COVID-19 and the role of testing for antibodies after vaccination.

Myth #1. Its been more than a year, why dont we still have mass testing?

This is a false and misleading statement. Adequate mass testing in the Philippines has been reached in the recent past. Per the World Health Organization guidelines, one of the criteria for the definition of a controlled epidemic is less than five percent of samples positive for COVID-19, at least for the last two weeks. This was achieved by the country from December 2020 to late February 2021. The current high positivity rate is a result of the surge, but with the ECQ, MECQ, and other interventions, this has been going down steadily. Haphazard testing can artificially bring positivity rates down, but this is not a meaningful way to properly achieve control. With more robust pandemic responses, the positivity rate will go down to manageable levels in the near future.

Myth #2: Testing 10 to 20 percent of a nations population per day would (sic) lead to rapid reopening.

This is false and impossible for most countries to achieve. First, there is no nation in the world, except perhaps very small nations, that have enough resources to test one-tenth of its population in one day. In the Philippines, that would mean over 10 million tests at a cost of P30-60 billion a day.

Taiwan has done about 600,000 tests (2.5 percent of the population); China has done 160 million tests (12 percent of the population); and New Zealand has done about two million tests (40 percent of the population) since the start of their respective pandemics and all these countries have very good control of their cases.

Doing testing on 10 to 20 percent of the population per day is unrealistic, wasteful, and logistically impossible. The US has done a total of 460 million tests in a country with 330 million peoplethe most number of tests by any country to date. A 10 percent of the population per day testing rate in the Philippines would mean that we have to test as many as the US has tested during its entire pandemic in a just over 40 daysan absurd proposition with no basis in reality.

Misleading Fact #1: Out of 1,000 Filipinos, only 85 get tested for COVID-19 per day.

This number is not meaningful without proper context. If one lives in Batanes where there are zero new COVID-19 cases, why would there be a need to test anyone? Testing for the sake of testing is wasteful and illogical if there is no risk of disease. Testing appropriately includes considering pretest probability and the tests sensitivity and specificity. Any number is meaningless unless taken in the context of disease prevalence and the purpose of testing.

Myth #3: Studies show that countries that test more have lower fatality rates.

This is false. The worlds leader in testing, the US, has one of the highest fatality rates in the world as well as the highest absolute number of fatalities. The document says studies but does not cite any. Gibraltar, which has the highest testing rate per capita globally, also has the second highest deaths per million population. It is not the amount of testing alone that is important but the availability of testing in combination with other control measures that determine how many people are infected and how many people die of COVID-19.

Misleading Fact #2: The Philippines ranks low at 110 out of 172 countries for total tests performed relative to its population.

This fact does not mean much without any context. Japan and Taiwan have done less testing than the Philippines relative to its population and these two countries have done well. We rank 115th in number of deaths per million population. Many countries (US, France, UK, Spain) rank higher than us in total tests relative to their populations but they have more than 10 times our number of deaths. Testing and testing rates should be seen within the context of need and demand, not as numbers in isolation.

Myth #4: We are fighting a fire blindfolded (pertaining to inadequate testing).

This is not true. There is a state-of-the-art genomic surveillance system that is keeping track of variants of concern. RT-PCR and antigen tests are being properly deployed among symptomatic and close contacts, especially in surge areas.

Haphazard testing is not an efficient means of interrupting transmission. According to a recent Lancet Infectious Diseases paper by Kucharski and his colleagues, the effect of randomly testing five percent of the population every week (which is very expensive) is a reduction of a mere two percent in transmission. When testing is properly done and targeted, it can decrease transmission by 60 to 80 percent, RT-PCR sensitivity is variable throughout the disease course and testing asymptomatic patients especially those without recent exposure has a very high false negative rate.

Testing is important to guide interventions, contact tracing, and for surveillance. It is not, however, a panacea for controlling the pandemic. The proper way to manage case numbers is with the minimum health standards with face mask (85 percent effective), face shield (78 percent effective), and other interventions as shown in Table 1. Testing is essential, but only as part of a comprehensive set of interventions. Focusing on testing as a cure-all is an inefficient and misguided exercise with no sound basis in public health.

Myth #5: WHO has finally admitted that COVID-19 is airborne.

This is a false and misleading statement. WHO already recognized early on that COVID-19 can be airborne in hospitals, especially when doing aerosol-generating procedures. It later updated this guidance to include the possibility of transmission in indoor settings with poor ventilation. There is no specific admission since this has already been acknowledged from the very start. A recent Lancet letter on airborne transmission of COVID-19 is still consistent with our current understanding of how people get COVID-19. Masks and faces shields still work. There is now more emphasis on improving ventilation in enclosed spaces, and people should avoid taking their masks off in these places. Best evidence still indicates predominantly droplet transmission, with a possible airborne component, especially indoors.

Myth #6: You need to test for COVID-19 neutralizing antibodies to ensure that your vaccine worked.

This is false. The US Centers for Disease Control does not recommend testing for antibodies, whether IgM, IgG, or neutralizing antibodies after vaccination. This is because different vaccines induce different types of antibody responses, and different antibody tests measure different types of antibodies. Even purported neutralizing antibody tests can be inaccurate since there are no agreed upon standards on what constitutes protection. The best assurance for protection of vaccines is from the clinical trials and real-world efficacy studies.

A persons immune response to the vaccine includes not just antibodies but also cell-mediated immunity. Cell-mediated immunity in the form of T-cells is particularly important for preventing severe disease since these cells are responsible for recognizing virus-infected cells and destroying them before the virus can propagate. There are clear robust T-cell responses from all the approved COVID-19 vaccines, and there is good evidence that these also protect against the new variants.

With the latest COVID-19 surge starting to abate, we need to remember how scary the full hospitals and emergency rooms were so that we continue to take full precautions as we open up our economy. As more vaccines arrive, we need to boost peoples confidence in these injections since they represent the fastest way out of the pandemic. Stamping our fake news and misinformation is crucial toward achieving the goal of a COVID-19-free Philippines.

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Here are some of the worst fake news on COVID-19 testing - Manila Bulletin

Last Thursday, President Joe Biden pledged at a virtual climate summit that the United States will cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 50%52%, from their 2005 levels, by 2030. Among the efforts cited by Biden and the White House that will help the country meet such a target were cutting-edge tools to make American soil the next frontier in carbon innovation, retrofitting buildings, and improving vehicle efficiency. At no time during his speech, before his speech, or after his speech, did the president make any mention, direct or indirect, of requiring Americans to change their diets. Nor did the West Wing, or anyone employed by the U.S. government, say one single thing about mandating that anyone stop eating anything. Not! One! Single! Thing! You might be wondering why were taking such pains to note the absence of Biden saying, again, literally anything about forcing people to stop eating certain foods, and the reason is because in the days since his pledge, numerous Republican members of Congress, Fox News hosts, and Donald Trump Jr. have lost their minds over the extremely fake news that Biden is going to pass a law saying they can only eat four pounds of red meat a year.

As CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale notes, the origins of this not-at-all-real story appear to have begun, ironically, with an article by the British tabloid The Daily Mail, which, per CNN, baselessly connected Bidens climate proposal to a 2020 academic paper estimating how greenhouse gas emissions would be affected if Americans, in theory, change their diets in a variety of ways, one of them being reducing their consumption of red meat to four pounds a year. Crucially, the paper was (1) published before Biden won the Democratic nomination (2) does not mention Biden at all (3) has never been publicly mentioned by Biden and (4) says nothing about the government imposing dietary limits. In other words, it could have been about Miley Cyruss quarantine mullet and The Daily Mail would have linked it to Bidens climate proposal. And people like Don Jr., Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Larry Kudlow would still have had an epic meltdown over the fake news because they collectively make up Americas biggest imbeciles.

Per CNN:

Joe Biden's climate plan includes cutting 90% of red meat from our diets by 2030. They want to limit us to about four pounds a year. Why doesnt Joe stay out of my kitchen? Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebertwroteon Twitter on Saturday. No fewer than five Fox News or Fox Business personalities told versions of the scare story on the air since Friday morning. For example, Fox News host Jesse WatterssaidSaturday that Americans are going to have to cut their red meat consumption by 90% in order to reduce emissions to hit Bidens target. That means youre only allowed to eat four pounds of red meat a year. That adds up to a burger a month. Thats it.

In a particularly odd moment on Twitter on Sunday, two Republican governors,Greg Abbott of TexasandBrad Little of Idaho, tweeted their opposition to the Biden red meat policy that doesnt existand cited a Fox News graphic that listed the supposed elements of the nonexistent policy.

Others chiming in to proudly display how easily duped they are included Taylor Greene:

Rep. Madison Cawthorn:

Right-wing radio host Todd Starnes:

And, of course, Donald Trumps not very bright son, who should probably have his arteries checked sooner rather than later:

Perhaps the biggest WTF moment though came from Kudlow, the 45th presidents former National Economic Council director, who, in his haste to jump on the not-real news seemed to suggest that, at present, most beer people drink is meat-based:

Speaking of stupid, he said on his show over the weekend, America has to, get this, America has to stop eating meat, stop eating poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, dairy, and animal-based fats. Okay, you got that? No burgers on July Fourth. No steaks on the barbie. So get ready. You can throw back a plant-based beer with your grilled brussels sprouts and wave your American flag.

As many have since noted, most beer, at present, is plant based, so its not clear what Kudlow has been drinking or, for that matter, smoking. (On the other hand, Kudlow has been famously wrong about everything for most of his career, so theres that.)

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Nations Imbeciles Lose Their Minds Over Fake News Biden Is Taking Their Red Meat Away - Vanity Fair

Greenwashing is back with a vengeance.

At least, thats my take from the firehose of news feeds that cross my inbox each day. And while the term is hardly new it was coined 35 years ago by a New York environmentalist in an essay about the hotel industrys efforts to promote towel reuse as a means of green virtue signaling it seems to have entered a new phase.

"Greenwash" may well be the new "fake news."

What do I mean by that? Just as fake news became a reflexive shorthand for some people (and one person in particular) to dismiss any media coverage that did not comport with their (sometimes warped) worldview, "greenwash" similarly has become shorthand for any corporate activity, big or small, that is perceived by critics to be insufficient, or that doesn't comport with someone's worldview.

At some point, if everything companies do or claim is dubbed greenwash, it becomes more reflective of the accusers than the accused.

Just as there are inaccurate, dishonest or misleading media stories worthy of the "fake news" moniker, there are corporate sustainability claims that arent as significant or impactful as theyre made out to be. Theres no shortage of vague and misleading green marketing claims and a few that are outright misleading. Those companies are worthy of being named and shamed.

But most green claims these days arent patently false or misleading. Far from it. Much of whats criticized asgreenwash seems to boil down to a difference of opinion about how far and how fast companies should be changing, as Ive maintained for years and years. And whether a big company with legacy problems ever can be viewed asa good actor.

Thus, anything thats seen as too little or too late or that sounds too good to be true must be, ipso facto, greenwash. Consider two recent stories:

Im not going to litigate either of these. I can see both sides, and each has a valid point. But both criticisms seem a needless distraction for companies trying new ways to engage environmentally and health-minded consumers and to jumpstart new value chains and business models. Are some of these efforts ham-handed? Probably. But I posit that theyre more sloppy than sinister, the result of well-intentioned companies doing imperfect things.

Probably like the overwhelming majority of companies out there.

Nonetheless, journalists, activists and self-styled critics are quick to pounce whenever a large company makes an effort. If its an ambitious or audacious effort, those critics are quick to point out all of the other things the company in question isnt yet doing right. That conveniently sweeps all of that companys sustainability initiatives into the same bucket: greenwash.

But all that is old business.

Whats new and newsworthy are the regulatory efforts to rein in so-called greenwashers in the financial sector. Over the past few months, the European Union and the U.S. government each have taken aim at banks and investment firms touting some sustainable investment vehicles mutual funds, sustainability-linked loans, ETFs and the like. Media coverage of these efforts more often than not refers to them as anti-greenwashing initiatives.

For example:

Another arena where "greenwashing" is showing up is carbon accounting, a murky and nerdy set of rules gaining critical importance in a world where companies, governments and others are committing to net-zero emissions, and where products are beginning to be labeled with their carbon content. Regulators and nongovernmental organizations are being called in to establish norms for how to do these things.

In the meantime, well-intentioned companies showing the way may face a big challenge: Can they successfully traverse the terrain without being labeled with the G-word? It won't be easy.

Scrutiny of sustainability claims is important and necessary. Marketers that make false or misleading representations need to be policed and held accountable. As sustainability-linked financial products and services and carbon labeling become key parts of the corporate sustainability toolkit, we'll need to clamp down on those stretching the truth.

Whether all of these things rise to the level of "greenwash" is another matter. Yes, marketers jumping on a green bandwagon can be prone to make exuberantly vague and unverifiable claims thats been going on for decades and they deserve closer scrutiny. But are they fraudulent? Not so much.

The problem I have with critics knee-jerk charges of corporate greenwash is that they lump together the worst actors with the companies that are simply trying to find their way through the green marketing thicket. Should purveyors of personal care products or grocery items making overzealous claims be tarred with the same brush as investment firms that place countless millions of other peoples money into insufficiently defined green investments?

And in a world where a climate crisis looms larger every day, and where biodiversity and social-equity crises are on the near horizon, should we really be lambasting companies small-bore marketing claims as if the world hinged on their accuracy?

At some point, if everything companies do or claim is dubbed greenwash, it becomes more reflective of the accusers than the accused.

It becomes, in a phrase, fake news.

Read more:

Is 'greenwash' the new 'fake news'? | Greenbiz - GreenBiz

The Delhi Police Crime Branch registered an FIR against persons who are spreading false news on social media, said officials on Monday.

Police said there are several motivated elements on social media whove alleged that the police are stopping oxygen tankers/cylinders and are also preventing people from sharing and amplifying Covid resource information.

Delhi Police shared a tweet by a man named Ratnesh Pal. The tweet said, Police stopped an oxygen tanker for an hour at Rajeev Chowk. The tanker was on its way to Delhis Fortis hospital. Lives of people are in danger. Why is Delhi Police misbehaving like this? You are stopping tankerscognizance must be taken

Officials said the news is fake. Dr. Eish Singhal, DCP (New Delhi) replied to Pals tweet saying Mischief is out yet again. Fraudsters are spreading misinformation. The alleged place (in the tweet) is not Rajiv Chowk, Delhi. No truck detained in Delhi yet. Delhi Police.provides green corridor to oxygen cylinders and tankers to reach the hospital. #SayNoToMisinformation. Police said tweets like these with pictures and videos were being uploaded. This discredits the good work the police are doing at the time of crisis.

Delhi Police PRO Chinmoy Biswal said Crime Branch has taken cognizance of such misinformation mongering. Amid pandemic crisis, this can cause panic and lawlessness. We have initiated legal action on such social media posts and an FIR has been registered, said DCP Biswal.

See the article here:

Delhi Police file FIRs against those spreading fake news on social media - The Indian Express

Vulture journalism views every disaster as the perfect opportunity to further its nasty propaganda. In the latest incident, journalists like Abhisar Sharma and Ravish Kumar took to social media to share fake news, unable to mask their Hinduphobia. On Monday, Amar Ujala carried false news suggesting the funeral pyre of a 25-year-old Anubhav Sharma was lit by his Muslim friend Yunus in Muzzafarnagar. The report also suggested that Sharma lost his battle to corona.

Soon pictures of Yunus lightning Anubhav Sharmas funeral pyre went viral on social media with the liberal media making most of the occasion to spread Hindu hate.

As per a Swarajya report, upon contacting Anubhav Sharmas elder brother Sharad Sharma, it was revealed that Anubhav had not died of corona and that the family members performed his final rites. Calling the social media posts misleading, Sharma said, I have performed the last rites of my brother with my own hands. People from my (Hindu) community, from my family, were all present,

Sharma informed that Mohammed Yunus worked as a driver for the family and was a good friend of Anubhav. He is my friend too and he was with us all the time, but the last rites were performed by me, in presence of my family and my community, he added. Sharma clarified that Yunus just added the raal to the pyre.

The liberal gang was quick to take notice of the Amar Ujala article and sprang to spread this misinformation with additional commentary almost instantly.

Ravish Kumar, the NDTV journalist shared a screenshot of a Tweet talking about the incident giving the title think, understand and wake up.

Former news anchor Abhisar Sharma too shared this on Facebook which has about 27,000 shares already. Sharma, who is not new to spreading falsehood, wrote (as translated), Mohammed Yunus performed the last rites of Anubhav Sharma in Muzaffarnagar. The day you understand the hypocrisy of religion, the wall of sand will collapse

A journalist named Kashif Kakvi, who supposedly works with a website called Newsclick.in and is a columnist with the likes to The Wire and TheQuint said in his Twitter post that Anubhavs family did not come forward to perform his last rites and it was for this reason that skull cap-wearing Yunus lit the pyre. This Tweet was retweeted by alleged fact-checker Mohammed Zubair who failed to fact-check this bit before retweeting.

As their fake news factory was busted, Kakvi issued a clarification and apologized for spreading misinformation.

Another alleged journalist named Aadesh Rawal Tweeted the photo with the same caption given by Abhisar Sharma. Not sure who copied whom but both managed to create communal disharmony using a mournful occasion of death.

The photo was also shared by verified Twitter accounts like Imran Pratapgarhiwho has about 9 lakh followers.

Sharad Sharma, on being asked to put out more images from the funeral remarked, It was not an occasion to take pictures. We dont know who clicked Yunuss picture, but I am sure that anybody who took pictures of the event would have pictures of me, my family and the gathering.

Originally posted here:

Columnist with The Wire, Al Jazeera amongst others apologises over spreading fake news of a funeral, NDTVs Ravish Kumar continues to be brazen -...