Fake news claims Narendra Modi is second most corrupt Prime Minister in the world

Prime Minister Narendra Modi ranks second among the most corrupt Prime Ministers in the world, if one were to go by a list that is circulating on social media. According to this list of most corrupt Prime Ministers in the world, PM Modi is second, behind Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan. Vladimir Putin ranks third.

This list which is purportedly by an organisation with a name similar to Fox News is being circulated on Facebook. Public Voice, a Facebook page has shared this list and also makes the allegation that PM Modi’s net worth is about 250,000 US dollars. The post also refers to PM Modi’s alleged ties with the Sahara group. This post dated March 13, 2018 has been shared more than 1500 times.

Alt News looked up www.foxnewspoint.com and discovered that it has nothing to do with American news channel Fox News. This website has also released another list of ten most corrupt politicians in the world in March 2017, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi ranks seventh.

In yet another list from September 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s family ranks second among the ten most corrupt families in the world. Again, Nawaz Sharif’s family tops the list. Narendra Modi is spelled as ‘Narindar Modi’.

Earlier in 2017, social media was flooded with similar posts. A list had circulated on social media which claimed that the Congress party ranks fourth among the most corrupt political parties in the world. This list was from a website called bbcnewspoint. However, clicking on the link now redirects to foxnewspoint which indicates that both these websites are being run by the same entity. It was shared by many right-wing accounts on Facebook and Twitter.

#सुनो_गौर_से_दुनिया_वालो Indian National Congress Is The 4th Most Corrupt Political Party In The World. Brings Shame To India.

RT & Spread! pic.twitter.com/Xh4PvxfvEA

— Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadeja) March 20, 2017

Another version of the list stated that BBC had declared Congress as the fourth most corrupt party in the world.

BBC declares Congress as the most corrupt party in the world @sush091979@INCIndia@OfficeOfRG@BJP4Indiapic.twitter.com/o2SuB2PHzG

— Abhishek Dutt (@chicku0410) October 9, 2017

Interestingly, according to some others, the same BBC had declared the BJP as the most corrupt political party in the world!

BJP termed the most corrupt political party in the world :- sources BBC news. #Modihataodeshbachao#Killermodi#Modigobackpic.twitter.com/JiYua5u1KT

— SUNA MIANDAD (@Sunamiandad) September 3, 2017

As it turns out, there was no such survey conducted by BBC, but this detail was oblivious to those on all sides of the ideological divide who zestfully spread this fake news on social media. These fake lists are basically used as propaganda tools by supporters and sympathisers of various political parties. SMHoaxSlayer had published an article rubbishing these lists as false. Social media users need to be circumspect with regard to such claims passing around on social media, as media organisations do not conduct surveys on such topics.