Two purported graphic plates of ABP News are doing the rounds on social media.
Image 1
The first graphic portrays that the channel aired the following breaking news — “Kangana Ranaut will promote BJP during Bihar elections. (बिहार चुनाव में भाजपा का समर्थन करेगी कंगना रनौत.)” From the Twitter account of Neetu Trivedi, the image received close to 900 likes.
Actor Mona Ambegaonkar quote-tweeted Trivedi’s tweet.
The same is also widely circulating on Facebook.
Fact-check
The graphic plate is morphed and not a genuine ABP News screenshot.
1. We were unable to find the broadcast where the graphic was aired. In fact, we did not find any media organisation carrying reports that said Kangana Ranaut will aid the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming Bihar elections.
2. The font on the viral image does not match the one on the genuine graphic plate.
3. The viral image has an out-of-place semi-colon.
Image 2
Another ABP News graphic portrays that the government will not reopen schools and colleges this year. The same has been promoted using an image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It also suggests that the Central Education Ministry said that 97,000 students contracted the coronavirus in the past two weeks due to which schools and colleges “may” start functioning in 2021.
“स्कुल व कॉलेज अब नहीं खुलेंगे। 2021 में खुल सकते हैं स्कुल व कॉलेज। बड़ी ख़बर। 2 हफ्ते में 97 हज़ार विधार्थी संक्रमित हुएं। :- केन्द्रीय शिक्षा विभाग,” reads the text in Hindi.
The graphic is viral on Facebook.
Fact-check
This graphic plate is also morphed. Upon comparing the viral screenshot with a genuine ABP News graphic plate, it becomes clear that the latter is fake. The font does not match here as well and the phrase “अब नहीं” is repeated. The first sentence is also incomplete.
The Ministry of Health has in fact allowed schools, colleges, and higher education institutes to reopen from September 21. However, with limitations. “For schools, it is the students of classes 9 to 12 who are given an option to attend classes offline. Schools will open only as a support for students who do not have access to online education or are facing issues. For colleges too, students enrolled in skill institutes, PhD scholars, postgraduate students, and those having practical aspects to their studies will be called to campus first as the institutes reopen in a phased manner,” according to The Indian Express. Several other guidelines were issued by the Ministry of Health and can be read here.
Thus, both the ABP News graphic plates are fake. This was also confirmed to Alt News by a senior journalist at the media organisation. Earlier, a morphed graphic plate claiming that the UP government will not provide scholarships to students this year due to budget constraints was viral.
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