Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal recently expressed concern over the shortage of coal in the country and the impending power crisis. He also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Modi on the matter. Against this backdrop, a picture of an ad featuring the AAP minister in the Hindi daily Hindustan is viral on social media. It contains a full-page advertisement with Kejriwal’s photo underneath and a headline that reads, “Help the Delhi government by donating coal to overcome the power shortage”. The line below states, “Your donation of one bucket of coal can help bring power back to all of Delhi.” Twitter user Devendra Tripathi tweeted this clip with the hashtag ‘#kejri_k_haseen_sapne’ (Kejriwal’s lofty dreams). (Archive link)
Shocking if not true🤣 pic.twitter.com/iu9YhE7PKt
— Naweed (@Spoof_Junkey) October 11, 2021
Another Twitter user amplified the image.
A Facebook user shared the image mocking the Delhi Chief Minister.
The image is widespread on Twitter and Facebook.
Fact-check
Upon a closer look at the viral clipping, we noticed a few details which led us to believe it is manufactured. For example, the word ‘satire’ is printed on the bottom right corner.
The clipping is dated July 9, 2021 and is purportedly from Hindustan’s Bihar edition.
Alt News examined the e-paper and discovered that the actual line in the advertisement reads – “The Delhi government stands with families who lost loved ones to COVID-19”. The ad states that families who lost their chief earning member due to COVID-19 would receive financial assistance of Rs 2,500 per month from the Delhi government. Apart from that, families who lost any member to the illness would be given a lump sum of Rs 50,000 as compensation.
The ad was, therefore, manufactured for satire but believed to be true by many.
