RBI director S Gurumurthy tweeted a purported newspaper clipping from 2001 titled – “India Politician Arrested”. According to the clipping, an Indian politician was arrested in Boston airport for possession of drugs. The politician was a son for a former prime minister, claimed the September 30, 2001 edition. Gurumurthy has now deleted his tweet but its archived version can be accessed here.
After a few users pointed out that the clipping was manufactured, Gurumurthy took it down and tweeted that it was “fair to delete” the clipping as a few users expressed doubts about the veracity of the report. Incidentally, Gurumurthy removed his clarification within an hour of posting it on Twitter.
Clipping created on a website
The alleged newspaper clipping tweeted by Gurumurthy was created on a website fodey.com that gives one an option to write a story, give it a headline, name the newspaper and change the date.
The video below shows how a newspaper clipping can be generated on the website.
Such manufactured newspaper clippings have been circulated on social media in the past as well. Not only Rahul Gandhi but Amit Shah, Arvind Kejriwal, Sonia Gandhi, Yogi Adithanath, among others, have been targeted in a similar manner.
