Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee breathed his last on Thursday at the Delhi’s AIIMS. Politicians of all hue have mourned his passing and expressed their grief. A Facebook Page JAY MODIRAJ (“जय मोदीराज”) has shared an image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi supposedly paying homage to the mortal remains of Vajpayee. The image inscribed with the text,“#भारत रत्न अटल बिहारी जी के सम्मान में जय हिन्द लिख कर श्रद्धांजलि अर्पित करे” (Please express condolence in honour of Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari ji by typing Jai Hind- translated) has been shared more than 4300 times.
जय हिंद। वंदे मातरम।।
Posted by JAY MODIRAJ (“जय मोदीराज”) on Thursday, 16 August 2018
Many Facebook users have shared the same image asking others to pay their respect by commenting “जय हिन्द लिख कर श्रद्धांजलि अर्पित करे” (Please express condolence by writing Jai hind- translated) on the post.
What is the truth?
Alt News did a Google reverse image search and found a post titled, “Hon’ble CM condoles death of veteran scribe Bhupat Vadodaria” on the official website of Narendra Modi which had the same image attached with it.
The post from October 5, 2011, stated, “The chief minister also visited the residence of Vadodaria and paid his homage and consoled the bereaved family members.”
In the past as well, the Facebook page JAY MODIRAJ has circulated misinformation. In the previous case, it was a photoshopped image of PM Modi surrounded by world leaders. During emotionally charged situations, netizens should always be circumspect about information shared on social media as bad actors often post misleading content.
Independent journalism that speaks truth to power and is free of corporate and political control is possible only when people start contributing towards the same. Please consider donating towards this endeavour to fight fake news and misinformation.
