{"id":60372,"date":"2020-03-05T18:58:52","date_gmt":"2020-03-05T13:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=60372"},"modified":"2020-03-05T19:51:49","modified_gmt":"2020-03-05T14:21:49","slug":"coronavirus-screenshots-from-aaj-taks-fact-check-shared-with-misleading-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/coronavirus-screenshots-from-aaj-taks-fact-check-shared-with-misleading-claim\/","title":{"rendered":"Aaj Tak&#8217;s fact-check that alcohol, weed don&#8217;t cure coronavirus infection viral with misleading claim"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On March 4, Facebook page &#8216;Humans of Hindutva&#8217; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/humansofhindutva\/posts\/839838073187723\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">shared two images<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/ZQzUS\">archive link<\/a>) of a television screen tuned in to <em>Aaj Tak.<\/em> In the first image, we can see &#8220;Alcohol and weed cure coronavirus? (\u0936\u0930\u093e\u092c \u0914\u0930 \u0917\u093e\u0902\u091c\u0947 \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u0915\u094b\u0930\u094b\u0928\u093e \u0935\u093e\u0907\u0930\u0938 \u0915\u093e \u0907\u0932\u093e\u091c?)&#8221; written in bold text. Similarly, the second image reads &#8211; &#8220;Taking a peg of alcohol can destroy coronavirus? (\u0936\u0930\u093e\u092c \u0915\u0947 \u092a\u0948\u0917 \u0932\u0917\u093e\u0928\u0947 \u0938\u0947 \u0915\u094b\u0930\u094b\u0928\u093e \u0935\u093e\u092f\u0930\u0938 \u0915\u093e \u0959\u093e\u0924\u094d\u092e\u093e?) The images shared with the caption, &#8220;Meanwhile Aaj Tak team has completely lost their minds&#8221; received over 500 shares.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-60376 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/Screenshot-2020-03-05-at-3.24.51-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"442\" height=\"668\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/Screenshot-2020-03-05-at-3.24.51-PM.png 442w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/Screenshot-2020-03-05-at-3.24.51-PM-199x300.png 199w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 442px) 100vw, 442px\" \/>Similarly, several social media users posted photos of <em>Aaj Tak&#8217;s<\/em> broadcast with the claim that the channel said that alcohol and marijuana can cure coronavirus infection.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-60377 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/Screenshot-2020-03-05-at-3.30.24-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1149\" height=\"575\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/Screenshot-2020-03-05-at-3.30.24-PM.png 1149w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/Screenshot-2020-03-05-at-3.30.24-PM-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/Screenshot-2020-03-05-at-3.30.24-PM-1024x512.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/Screenshot-2020-03-05-at-3.30.24-PM-768x384.png 768w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/Screenshot-2020-03-05-at-3.30.24-PM-990x495.png 990w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1149px) 100vw, 1149px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4>Fact-check<\/h4>\n<p>On February 22, <em>Aaj Tak<\/em> posted a 15-minute video on YouTube with the title: &#8220;Is the cure for coronavirus hidden in alcohol or weed? (Translated from: \u0915\u094d\u092f\u093e Alcohol \u0914\u0930 Weed \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u091b\u093f\u092a\u093e \u0939\u0948\u0902 coronavirus \u0915\u093e \u0907\u0932\u093e\u091c?]. The first five minutes of the broadcast fact-checked these claims associated with coronavirus. Photos of the fact-check have been taken out of context on social media and presented with the opposite claim &#8211; that the channel asserted that the infection can be cured with alcohol and cannabis.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u0915\u094d\u092f\u093e Alcohol \u0914\u0930 Weed \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u091b\u093f\u092a\u093e \u0939\u0948 coronavirus \u0915\u093e \u0907\u0932\u093e\u091c? Viral test | Coronavirus In India\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/awrJleh7yAo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>According to <em>Aaj Tak<\/em>, Shiv Sena-backed daily newspaper <em>Saamana<\/em> published an article that claimed alcohol can cure coronavirus. Alt News rummaged through <em>Saamana&#8217;s<\/em> e-papers prior to February 22 and found that such an <a href=\"http:\/\/epaper.hindisaamana.com\/index.php?pagedate=2020-2-14&amp;edcode=71&amp;subcode=71&amp;mod=1&amp;pgnum=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">article was indeed published on the front page of the February 14 edition<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-60399 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/2020-03-05-17_53_28-Saamana.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1604\" height=\"613\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/2020-03-05-17_53_28-Saamana.jpg 1604w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/2020-03-05-17_53_28-Saamana-300x115.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/2020-03-05-17_53_28-Saamana-1024x391.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/2020-03-05-17_53_28-Saamana-768x294.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/2020-03-05-17_53_28-Saamana-1536x587.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/2020-03-05-17_53_28-Saamana-990x378.jpg 990w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/2020-03-05-17_53_28-Saamana-1320x504.jpg 1320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1604px) 100vw, 1604px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Apart from the alcohol claim, <em>Aaj Tak <\/em>also fact-checked the viral message that marijuana has medicinal properties capable of curing coronavirus infection. This was debunked by Alt News Science when filmmaker <a href=\"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/cannabis-kills-coronavirus-vivek-agnihotri-shares-scientific-misinformation-via-meme\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vivek Agnihotri had shared a meme<\/a> claiming the same,<\/p>\n<p>The screenshots (attached below) taken at 0:41 and 1:04 marks were posted by Facebook page &#8216;Humans of Hindutva&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-60378 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/Screenshot-2020-03-05-at-3.50.03-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1162\" height=\"323\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/Screenshot-2020-03-05-at-3.50.03-PM.png 1162w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/Screenshot-2020-03-05-at-3.50.03-PM-300x83.png 300w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/Screenshot-2020-03-05-at-3.50.03-PM-1024x285.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/Screenshot-2020-03-05-at-3.50.03-PM-768x213.png 768w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/Screenshot-2020-03-05-at-3.50.03-PM-990x275.png 990w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1162px) 100vw, 1162px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This wasn&#8217;t an isolated case when photos of <em>Aaj Tak&#8217;s\u00a0<\/em>fact-check report were taken out of context and used to promote the same misinformation the channel attempted to debunk. Its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/screenshots-of-aaj-tak-fact-check-shared-to-claim-rbi-has-scrapped-rs-2000-note\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">fact-check report<\/a> on the viral claim that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to scrap Rs 2000 notes was misused in a similar fashion. It is noteworthy that the misuse has been possible because <em>Aaj Tak<\/em> does not explicitly state during its broadcast (as evident in the above screenshots) that the text flashed on the screen is actually the viral message and not a fact stated by the channel. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/screengrabs-of-news-18-indias-fact-check-shared-as-rbi-discontinuing-rs-2000-notes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">fact-check report by\u00a0<\/a><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/screengrabs-of-news-18-indias-fact-check-shared-as-rbi-discontinuing-rs-2000-notes\/\">News18<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>was also taken out of context in the past for the same reasons.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, photos of a fact-check report by\u00a0<em>Aaj Tak\u00a0<\/em>that alcohol and cannabis cannot be used against coronavirus infection were taken out of context and widely shared on social media,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On March 4, Facebook page &#8216;Humans of Hindutva&#8217; shared two images (archive link) of a television screen tuned in to Aaj Tak. In the first image, we can see &#8220;Alcohol and weed cure coronavirus? (\u0936\u0930\u093e\u092c \u0914\u0930 \u0917\u093e\u0902\u091c\u0947 \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u0915\u094b\u0930\u094b\u0928\u093e \u0935\u093e\u0907\u0930\u0938 \u0915\u093e \u0907\u0932\u093e\u091c?)&#8221; written in bold text. Similarly, the second image reads &#8211; &#8220;Taking a peg [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":60388,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"an_content_type":[739],"coauthors":[133],"class_list":["post-60372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","fact_checks_claim_type-viral-photos","an_content_type-fact-check"],"blocksy_meta":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/03\/corona-FI.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60372"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60407,"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60372\/revisions\/60407"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60372"},{"taxonomy":"an_content_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/an_content_type?post=60372"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=60372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}