{"id":43738,"date":"2019-08-16T22:03:11","date_gmt":"2019-08-16T16:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=43738"},"modified":"2019-08-16T22:09:15","modified_gmt":"2019-08-16T16:39:15","slug":"times-now-tries-fact-checking-declares-indian-parody-handle-as-pakistani-propaganda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/times-now-tries-fact-checking-declares-indian-parody-handle-as-pakistani-propaganda\/","title":{"rendered":"Times Now tries fact-checking: Declares Indian parody handle as “Pakistani propaganda”"},"content":{"rendered":"

As part of its #IndiaRejectPropaganda<\/em> campaign, Times Now<\/em> recently announced that it will carry out \u201cextensive fact checks to separate truth from fiction\u201d<\/em>. One such fact-check analysed a tweet from a handle @thezaiduleaks<\/em> which had posted an image of a scene from the popular TV show ‘Game of Thrones’ with the text, \u201cKashmiri girl who became blind after she was hit by pellet gun, her brothers, father & mother were mercilessly killed, her sister was raped by Indian Army now begging on street of Srinagar. Where is Humanity?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kashmiri girl who became blind after she was hit by pellet gun, her brothers, father & mother were mercilessly killed, her sister was raped by Indian Army now begging on street of Srinagar.<\/p>\n

Where is Humanity?#KashmirUnderThreat<\/a> #OperationKashmir<\/a>#IndiaUsingClusterBombs<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/Pcc94cQ7zC<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Fan of Zaidu\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf0 (@TheZaiduLeaks) August 3, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With its screen flashing \u201cPak\u2019s fakery caught out<\/em>\u201d and \u201cPak\u2019s ISI propaganda exposed<\/em>\u201d, Times Now<\/em> anchor said<\/a>, \u201cthere is someone with a handle that has got a Pakistani flag on it and when we did a fact-check we found that this image is from a fictional TV series \u2018Game of Thrones\u2019…. and Pakistan is trying to peddle these lies as part of what is happening in India as part of abrogation of article 370<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Times Now<\/em> is correct that the picture is from \u2018Game of Thrones\u2019. But was this a part of Pakistani propaganda? Is there an ISI hand behind this tweet as concluded by Times Now<\/em>?<\/p>\n

A botched-up fact-check<\/h2>\n

The @thezaiduleaks<\/a><\/em> is a popular parody handle on Twitter. It’s bio states, \u201cAll tweets are for fun 100% fake imaginary<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

The handle has a Pakistani flag and mentions Rawalpindi, Pakistan as its location which could be misleading at first glance. However, the fact that it calls itself a parody handle in its Twitter bio should have been a hint that its stated identity may not be its actual identity.<\/p>\n

A simple fact-check ascertains that the handle is not run by Pakistanis let alone by the ISI.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Who runs @thezaiduleaks<\/em>?<\/h2>\n

This Twitter handle was created in 2010. When Alt News searched for the earliest tweets addressed to the handle, we found that the\u00a0@thezaiduleaks<\/em> account used to be called @er_dev_singh<\/a><\/em> in its early days.<\/p>\n

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The account was later renamed to @theghazwatimes<\/a>. <\/em>We found this upon searching for tweets addressed to the handle @thezaiduleaks<\/em> in the period between January and February 2018.<\/p>\n

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The @theghazwatimes<\/em> account was first promoted by a Twitter account @AndColorPocket<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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Mitron chacha Zaid Hamid ka account twitter ne fir uda diya , please follow Chacha’s new account. @TheGhazwaTimes #FF<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \ud83e\udd81 (@AndColorPockeT) February 2, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to an article<\/a> on the right-wing portal rightlog.in<\/em><\/a>, @AndColorPocket<\/em> is an account run by one Rajat Rawal who is\/was an admin of the Facebook page The Frustrated Indian.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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The @theghazwatimes<\/em> was eventually renamed as @thezaiduleaks<\/em>. If you search for @theghazwatimes<\/em> on Google, it leads back to @thezaiduleaks<\/em>. This is because an account’s username can be changed multiple times but its Twitter ID remains unique. In the video below, one can see Google search results for “twitter.com\/theghazwatimes”<\/em> redirect to tweets by @thezaiduleaks.<\/em><\/p>\n