Photoshopped promo of ABP News over Chandrayaan-2 shared on social media - Alt News
Arjun Sidharth
9th September 2019 / 9:22 pm
A still of what appears to be a promo for an ABP News broadcast featuring anchor Rubika Liyaquat has been posted and shared on social media. “मैं बहुत अचंभित थी अभी तक किसी ने नेहरू जी का नाम किऊ नहीं लिया!! आख़िर में ठीकरा फूट ही गया” (“I was surprised why no one took Nehru’s name until now. In the end, it did happen”- translated).
मैं बहुत अचंभित थी अभी तक किसी ने नेहरू जी का नाम किऊ नहीं लिया!!
आख़िर में ठीकरा फूट ही गया 😅😅👏 https://t.co/cKAqPPoQAh
— Preeti Chobey (@preeti_chobey) September 9, 2019
The ‘promo’ of the broadcast has the words, “क्या चंद्रयान 2 की असफलता के लिए कांग्रेस ज़िम्मेदार?” (Is Congress responsible for the failure of Chandrayaan-2?”- translated).
The above tweet is by Preeti Chobey who has quote-tweeted another user Piyush Mishra who appears to have originally tweeted the image. Chobey is a member of the Samajwadi Party (SP). Her tweet has been retweeted over 200 times so far.
The graphic of the ABP News promo featuring Rubika Liyaquat and the Chandrayaan-2 mission is fake. If one looks at it closely, the word Memerao is inscribed on it, suggesting that this could be a meme.
Alt News did not find a single such graphic either broadcast or tweeted by ABP News. Moreover, Ms. Liyaquat herself took to Twitter, quote-tweeting Ms. Chobey’s tweet to rubbish the image, saying, “Edited picture पर जब verified account फ़ौरन कूदने लगे तो समझ जाएँ दिमाग़ छुट्टी पर है” (“When a verified account starts jumping on an edited picture, it means the brain is on holiday”- translation).
Edited picture पर जब verified account फ़ौरन कूदने लगे तो समझ जाएँ दिमाग़ छुट्टी पर है https://t.co/EExvatfRfl
— Rubika Liyaquat (@RubikaLiyaquat) September 9, 2019
Furthermore, the font used in the infographic does not match with the font colour and size used by ABP News.
बीजिंग में इमरान खान की 20 सेकंड की #BEGGING, @RubikaLiyaquat के साथ #Masterstroke देखिए pic.twitter.com/ywn0HmAaHw
— ABP न्यूज़ हिंदी (@abpnewshindi) November 6, 2018
ABP News is a favourite among misinformation purveyors, who often use the channel’s name, logo and broadcast format to circulate fake quotes or fake news. In 2018, a fake screenshot of a ABP News broadcast was viral, showing Rahul Gandhi had suggested a massive loan to help Pakistan. In another instance, a bizarre statement was falsely attributed to UP CM Yogi Adityanath via a morphed screenshot of a broadcast. However, in this case, it appears that a meme was construed as real and shared on social media.
Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming.
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