{"id":38219,"date":"2020-01-27T17:04:04","date_gmt":"2020-01-27T11:34:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=38219"},"modified":"2020-08-29T16:12:49","modified_gmt":"2020-08-29T10:42:49","slug":"tarek-fatah-a-case-study-of-unrelenting-divisive-misinformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/tarek-fatah-a-case-study-of-unrelenting-divisive-misinformation\/","title":{"rendered":"Tarek Fatah – A case study of unrelenting divisive misinformation"},"content":{"rendered":"

A prominent name on social media, Tarek Fatah is an active Twitter user with over 6 lakh followers. But on numerous occasions, the Pakistani-Canadian writer has been found using the micro-blogging platform to circulate misinformation along communal lines, particularly targeting Indian Muslims. Even more concerning is his refusal to take down false news after the truth is pointed. He has, in fact, been found taking extra efforts to ensure that his followers remain misled.<\/p>\n

Earlier in January 2020, Fatah tweeted<\/a> a video of Burqa-clad persons dancing to a Bollywood number. He questioned, “Could someone confirm if this video is from the #CAA_NRCProtests at #ShaheenBagh or nor?” There are enough hints in the video which suggest that it did not represent protests at Shaheen Bagh against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The group is dancing around a woman dressed as a bride. Quite ironically, Fatah had tweeted the same video three years ago…twice. When he was slammed for the same,<\/a> he quietly took down his tweet from August 2017<\/a>. However, missed his tweet from May 2017<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Tarek Fatah’s Twitter timeline is an exhibition of disinformation and in this article, we will look at numerous such instances.<\/p>\n

1. Video of relief distribution to Delhi riot victims shared as Shaheen Bagh women getting paid<\/h4>\n

“This video speaks for itself,” wrote Fatah after anti-CAA protests sparked riots in Delhi.<\/p>\n

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This video from #ShaheenBagh<\/a> in Delhi speaks for itself. pic.twitter.com\/qBOsJutGfF<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tarek Fatah (@TarekFatah) February 29, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While Fatah tried to paint Shaheen Bagh women as ‘paid’ protesters, this video depicted relief distribution for Delhi riot victims.<\/p>\n

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Remember the video circulated claiming people were paid money to go to Shaheen Bagh protest. Well I\u2019m conclusively proving it as a lie, by shooting from the same location and with the person who gave the money and explaining for what reason, with corroborative video evidences. So watch it share it and please stop sharing fake news. Thanks a lot.<\/p>\n

Posted by Rowthran Chandra Mohan<\/a> on Monday, 2 March 2020<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Despite Alt News Fact Check<\/a> and numerous others, the tweet remains on Fatah’s timeline. In fact, it was used in a Delhi riots ‘fact-finding’ report<\/a> submitted to the Home Ministry to build a case against CAA protests.<\/p>\n

2. Tweeted morphed image to claim Madrasa teacher portraying Islam superior to Hinduism<\/h4>\n

In June 2018, Tarek Fatah tweeted a photograph claiming that it depicts a madrasa teacher coaching his students that Islam is superior to Hinduism. He later took down the tweet, however, not before it drew numerous retweets.<\/p>\n

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The image tweeted by Fatah was morphed. In the original photograph, published by several media organisations including\u00a0ANI,\u00a0the blackboard has words written in Sanskrit. The teacher was giving the students a lesson on the language. Incidentally, this piece of misinformation had been debunked<\/a> by Alt News just days before Fatah’s tweet.<\/p>\n

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3. Old video from Rajasthan shared as Muslims chanting slogans of Islamic supremacy amid Delhi polls<\/h4>\n

On February 8, 2020, Tarek Fatah quote-tweeted a video of a group of men, a majority of them wearing skull-caps, and wrote, \u201cIn the #DelhiPolls2020, Muslim goons chant a provocative slogan against Hindus to boast Islamic supremacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In the #DelhiPolls2020<\/a>, Muslim goons chant a provocative slogan against Hindus to boast Islamic supremacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cHindustan me rehna Hoga,
\nAllah-O-Akbar kehna Hoga”<\/p>\n

(If u wish to live in India, then
\nyou’ll hv to chant Allah-O-Akbar)
\nhttps:\/\/t.co\/Bx51eF3rdZ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tarek Fatah (@TarekFatah) February 8, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While the original tweet has been taken down, Fatah is yet to delete his tweet. The video was shot in December 2017 thus unrelated to the 2020 Delhi polls. Here, apart from chants of Allah-o-Akbar, slogans against Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal and PM Modi were also raised.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=NZXPoJ8-DII<\/a><\/p>\n

You can read Alt News’s detailed fact-check here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

4. Video from Bijnor viral with false allegation that elderly Muslim vendor sprinkled urine on fruits<\/h4>\n

A video of an elderly Muslim fruit-seller was shared by Tarek Fatah with the claim that he was caught sprinkling his urine on the produce. This video was massively viral as COVID cases in the country rose.<\/p>\n

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Muslim fruit vendor in India caught collecting his pee in a bottle and then sprinkling his urine on bananas for sale What is wrong with my community? Ya Allah, what have we Muslims become?
\npic.twitter.com\/XZyWFYKvK0<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tarek Fatah (@TarekFatah) April 21, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The police informed that the video was being shared with false claims. The elderly man had taken water from a bottle on his cart to wash hands after urination. He later used the same bottle to sprinkle water on the fruits. Our detailed fact-check on the incident can be read here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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5. False claim that a girl was assaulted for not wearing Hijab<\/h4>\n

Fatah had claimed that a girl was hit on the head by a man who disapproved of her cycling without wearing a Hijab (archive<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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Man upset at seeing girls cycling without Hijab, slaps one on her head. Coming soon to a neighbourhood near you. https:\/\/t.co\/dc8QUcpaaV<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tarek Fatah (@TarekFatah) June 25, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Alt News found multiple Turkish reports which stated that the man had indeed assaulted the 9-year-old. However, none of the reports mentioned the absence of Hijab as the motive for the crime. The incident had gained much prominence in Turkey after the perpetrator was released from jail and referred to a mental health facility. Despite Fatah’s tweet debunked<\/a> two years ago, he is yet to take it down.<\/p>\n

6. Tweeted video of Islamic flags raised during Ramzan as Pakistani flags<\/h4>\n

Fatah tweeted a video where bike-borne men can be seen waving green coloured flags. The Pakistani-Canadian writer claimed that the flags were of Pakistan and were raised during Ramzan in Tamil Nadu (archive<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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Guess which community is waving Pakistan flags in India’s Tamilnadu state? Buddhists? Zoroastrians? Must be Jews. pic.twitter.com\/ypeXYknY0o<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tarek Fatah (@TarekFatah) June 9, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

However, the flags were not of Pakistan but Islamic flags often used by the Muslim community in the sub-continent. Alt News’s detailed fact-check can be read here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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7. Video of men uprooting trees over land dispute in Pakistan shared with anti-Muslim angle<\/h4>\n

Tarek Fatah wrote in foul language that \u201cjihads\u201d uprooted saplings to practice \u201ckilling infidel kaafirs\u201d in Pakistan.<\/p>\n

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Pakistani Jihadis uprooting tree saplings to practice killing infidel kaafirs.<\/p>\n

Which begs the eternal question:
\nHow does one country produce so many rectums? Just how does Pakistan do it?
\npic.twitter.com\/ADNkdmvrR9<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tarek Fatah (@TarekFatah) August 9, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In reality, a chaotic incident took place at the Mandi Kas area in Khyber Agency in Pakistan. Newly-planted trees were uprooted by locals<\/a> over alleged \u201cforceful plantation on private land\u201d. The tree plantation drive was an initiative by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf member Iqbal Afridi as a part of Pakistan\u2019s 10 Billion Tree Tsunami, a nationwide plantation drive.<\/p>\n

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Locals uproot trees of PTI lawmaker’s plantation campaign in Khyber over land dispute#TheNews<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The News (@thenews_intl) August 9, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

8. Tweeted old video to claim Muslims celebrated Congress’s victory by waving Pak flags<\/h4>\n

The “Pak flags” theory has been propagated by Fatah several times. Last year, after Congress won the assembly polls in Rajasthan, he claimed that the victory was celebrated by Muslims in the state by raising Pakistani flags. Fatah later deleted the tweet but an archived version<\/a> can be accessed here.<\/p>\n

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The flags in the video were actually representative of the \u2018Indian Union Muslim League\u2019 and not Pakistan. Alt News’s fact-check can be read here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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9. Unrelated video from 2017 shared amidst CAA protests with a communal spin<\/h4>\n

In the view of protests against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Fatah retweeted a video of a man sporting a skull cap pelting a stone at a bus.<\/p>\n

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The video, however, turned out to be from 2017<\/a> therefore unrelated to CAA which was passed by the Parliament in December 2019. Moreover, in the complete video, one can spot a group of people pelting bricks at the bus, whereas in the video retweeted by Fatah, the portion where a man donning a skull cap was throwing a brick was mischievously clipped.<\/p>\n