{"id":45635,"date":"2019-09-10T19:01:04","date_gmt":"2019-09-10T13:31:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=45635"},"modified":"2019-09-10T19:01:04","modified_gmt":"2019-09-10T13:31:04","slug":"august-2019-misinformation-centered-around-jk-child-abduction-rumours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/august-2019-misinformation-centered-around-jk-child-abduction-rumours\/","title":{"rendered":"August 2019: Misinformation centered around J&K, child abduction rumours"},"content":{"rendered":"

August 2019 was characterised by a series of dangerous rumours about child abduction gangs, which resulted in a series of violent incidents in various states. This time around, the rumours specifically targeted mentally challenged persons and transgenders. Furthermore, the central government’s decision to revoke the special status of Jammu & Kashmir also triggered a deluge of misinformation on social media. This misinformation was generated and furthered by all sides of the political and ideological divide.<\/p>\n

CHILD ABDUCTION RUMOURS CONTINUE UNABATED<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Rumours of child abduction gangs on the prowl continued from July and took a sinister turn as mentally challenged people and transgenders were specifically targeted via these rumours.<\/p>\n

1. Mentally challenged woman falsely accused of child kidnapping held hostage by mob<\/h3>\n

Two videos of a woman held hostage by a mob which is accusing her of child-lifting were viral on social media. In the first video, the mob is questioning the woman dressed in a black saree about her team of \u2018child-kidnappers\u2019. It was shared with the message, “A<\/em> team of 2,000 Rohingyas are on a prowl across the country to kidnap children. They either sell these kids or sacrifice them. Watch and listen to it yourself and share it as much as possible -translated.\u00a0<\/em>Another video of the same woman, where is she is inquired by the mob about the number of abducted children and their whereabouts, was also shared on social media.<\/p>\n

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Posted by Sunita Jairam<\/a> on\u00a0Monday, August 19, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Alt News found<\/a> that\u00a0this woman was held hostage by a mob in Dimrauni village of UP\u2019s Jhansi district. A YouTube Channel\u00a0Bharat News 24 Live<\/em><\/a> claimed that the woman was a child-lifter. Alt News contacted Badagaon police station to confirm the incident and inquire about its status. We were informed that the incident is at least 15-20 days old and the woman was a mentally-challenged person. The villagers had mistaken her for being a child-lifter.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Mentally-challenged man beaten on false child-lifting suspicions; video viral<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A video of a man dressed in women\u2019s clothing is massively viral on social media with the claim that he is a child-kidnapper. From a personal Facebook account\u00a0\u092b\u094c\u091c\u0940 \u0938\u093f\u0939\u0901 \u091c\u0940<\/a>, the video has a whopping 2.3 million views. The post was shared with the claim that at least 2,000 Rohingyas are on a prowl across the country to kidnap children. They either sell these kids or sacrifice them, the message asserted.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Alt News contacted<\/a> Mauranipur police station, Jhansi district in Uttar Pradesh and was informed that the man was not a child-kidnapper. He was a mentally-challenged person who was beaten on the suspicion of being a child-lifter.\u00a0\u201cThis incident is at least 10-15 days old. The youth\u2019s name is Pushpendra Singh, son of Gajrar Singh. He is from Ruthiyai gram in Guna, Madhya Pradesh and was getting treated for his mental illness in Gwalior. He lost his way at a station and wandered all the way to Khilara gram in Mauranipur where locals, who believed that he was a child kidnapper, thrashed him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Gory, disturbing videos shared to stoke false rumours of child-kidnapping<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A set of videos was shared on social media with the narrative that these depict child-kidnappers who sell kidneys of children for money. The message used to share the video claims \u2013 \u201cThese videos were circulated from district morena of Madhya Pradesh. They were extracting kidneys and heart from children.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>The visual description of the four videos from top-left is as follows:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. A disturbing, gory video of a man ripping out the heart from a living man\u2019s body.<\/li>\n
  2. Another disturbing visual of a boy held captive by an angry group of people who are beating him up while constantly questioning the boy about his place of residence.<\/li>\n
  3. A gory of video of people rounding-up several dismembered bodies.<\/li>\n
  4. A broadcast by news channel\u00a0IBC24 News\u00a0<\/em>that reports about an arrest of a saint who was attempting to kidnap children.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"\"
    \nAlt News was able to ascertain that out these four videos, three are unrelated to the child-kidnapping. We have traced the origins of each video with their actual narrative. Alt News’ fact-check may be     read here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    4. Unrelated photos shared with false narrative of child abduction and organ trade<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    A photograph of lifeless bodies of five children was shared on social media with two separate claims. The first claim suggested that the image was released by Rajasthan police and warned people of an active gang prowling in Rajasthan. The message alerts people to take care of their children. A second claim, also shared in Hindi, was posted by a Facebook user<\/a> who shared the image of the dead children in a set of four other photographs. He claimed that child-kidnappers are lifting kids and selling their kidneys. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    A simple reverse-image search on Google revealed that all the five photographs were shared with a false narrative. Alt News’s detailed fact-check may be read here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    The video posted below is Alt News’s compilation of 15 such disturbing instances of rumours of child abduction.<\/p>\n