{"id":68324,"date":"2020-06-04T20:24:50","date_gmt":"2020-06-04T14:54:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=68324"},"modified":"2020-06-05T01:15:55","modified_gmt":"2020-06-04T19:45:55","slug":"irresponsible-media-reports-spark-anger-against-muslims-and-kerala-in-elephant-death-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/irresponsible-media-reports-spark-anger-against-muslims-and-kerala-in-elephant-death-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Irresponsible media reports spark anger against Muslims and Kerala in elephant death case"},"content":{"rendered":"

The death of a pregnant elephant in Kerala after she was allegedly “fed” a pineapple stuffed with firecrackers sparked massive outrage in the country. The tragic incident started trending on social media after celebrities and politicians condemned the inhuman ordeal. Many demanded that the perpetrators should be given the strictest punishment. Since then, several individuals are mocking the condition of ‘education’ in Kerala<\/a>, the state with the highest literacy rate in the country. More importantly, as with most other issues in India, the helpless animal’s death has provoked a wave of anti-Muslim sentiment.<\/p>\n

BJP MP Maneka Gandhi tweeted, “Mallapuram is know for its intense criminal activity specially with regards to animals. No action has ever been taken against a single poacher or wildlife killer so they keep doing it.” She claimed that the incident took place in Malappuram (misspelt as ‘Mallapuram’ in Gandhi’s tweet), a Muslim-dominated district. Gandhi repeated the same in a byte to ANI<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Mallapuram is know for its intense criminal activity specially with regards to animals. No action has ever been taken against a single poacher or wildlife killer so they keep doing it.
\nI can only suggest that you call\/email and ask for action pic.twitter.com\/ii09qmb7xW<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Maneka Sanjay Gandhi (@Manekagandhibjp) June 3, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In a tweet thread, Pakistani-Canadian author Tarek Fatah shared a report by NDTV and blamed Muslims for the elephant’s death.<\/p>\n

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The atrocity of feeding a pregnant elephant with pineapple full of firecrackers & killing her, took place in the Mallapuram district of India\u2019s Kerala State. The district is the only Muslim-majority district of the state with an over 70% Muslim population.<\/p>\n

What are the chances? pic.twitter.com\/JWg7DUWizm<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tarek Fatah (@TarekFatah) June 2, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Incident from Palakkad, not Malappuram<\/h4>\n

The report by NDTV shared by Tarek Fatah and several other individuals has now been updated. While it earlier claimed<\/a> that the elephant died in Malappuram, the article’s updated version<\/a> reads Palakkad.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The author of the report Shylaja Verma tweeted a clarification that she got the district’s name wrong.<\/p>\n

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On the Kerala elephant story, we regret getting the name of the district wrong in the first version of the story. It was corrected as soon as it was brought to our notice.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Shylaja Varma (@ShylajaVarma) June 4, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That the incident occurred in Palakkad was also tweeted by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.<\/p>\n

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In a tragic incident in Palakkad dist, a pregnant elephant has lost its life. Many of you have reached out to us. We want to assure you that your concerns will not go in vain. Justice will prevail.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Pinarayi Vijayan (@vijayanpinarayi) June 4, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Kerala Forest Minister K Raju said the same.<\/p>\n

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Strict action will be taken against culprits responsible for killing a pregnant elephant. I want to clarify that it happened in Palakkad not in Malappuram. Regarding, the remark of Maneka Gandhi, I don’t want to comment at this juncture: K Raju, Kerala Forest Minister (file pic) pic.twitter.com\/1gnctPzhGO<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Misinformation widespread, most share NDTV’s erroneous report<\/h4>\n

Several individuals either shared a link or a screenshot of the report by NDTV. Below is a tweet by Pratheesh Viswanath, founder of Hindu Sena Kendra. The article claimed that the elephant died in Malappuram.<\/p>\n

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She was carrying baby inside. She was hungry so as her baby inside. So y accepted food given by humans. But she didnt kno cracker was stuffed inside. She lost trunk and toungue.
\nShe neither turned violent nor attacked. Silently Walked to river. Died there.
\nFrom Malappuram Kerala. pic.twitter.com\/nl1Omf0hJs<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Pratheesh Viswanath (@pratheesh_Hind) June 2, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Other usual suspects who claimed that the incident took place in Malappuram were Arun Pudur<\/a>, Payal Rohatgi<\/a> and @IAmMayank_<\/a>. Pudur wrote, “Now tell me about 100% literacy & who is majority in Mallapuram?”<\/p>\n

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In Kerala’s Malappuram, ba$tards fed a Pregnant Elephant Fed Pineapple Stuffed with Firecrackers.<\/p>\n

She exploded but didn’t harm anyone. She went to the river and died quietly.<\/p>\n

Now tell me about 100% literacy & who is majority in Mallapuram? https:\/\/t.co\/lduCv2uUbW<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Arun Pudur (@arunpudur) June 2, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar also claimed that the incident occurred in Malappuram.<\/p>\n

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Central Government has taken a very serious note of the killing of an elephant in Mallapuram, #Kerala<\/a>. We will not leave any stone unturned to investigate properly and nab the culprit(s). This is not an Indian culture to feed fire crackers and kill.@moefcc<\/a> @PIB_India<\/a> @PIBHindi<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) June 4, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Misinformation promoted by the media<\/h4>\n

Not only NDTV, but several other media outlets claimed that the tragic incident took place in Malappuram. In fact, many continue to misreport – Republic<\/a>, Hindustan Times<\/a>, Times Now<\/a>, India TV<\/a>, The Economic Times<\/a>, India Today<\/a>, ANI<\/a>, News Nation<\/a>, among others.<\/p>\n