On July 11, Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan tweeted that he tested positive for COVID-19. He was admitted in the isolation unit at Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital, Mumbai. The next day, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and Aaradhya Bachchan also tested positive. In the backdrop of this, a two-minute video of Amitabh thanking the staff of Nanavati Hospital has gone viral. It has been shared by several media outlets and social media users with the claim that it’s a recent video.
Lokmat, a Maharashtra-based news outlet, shared the viral video on YouTube.
It was also posted by Aaj Tak with the same claim. This video has over nine lakh views on YouTube.
Some other media outlets that shared the viral video include тАФ MOJO, Outlook, Yahoo India, One India and Amar Ujala. Facebook pages Bollywood Now and Bollywood Bliss shared the viral video as well. The video gained over 7 lakh views cumulatively.
Similarly, YouTube channel Movie Telly and Sahitya Tak uploaded the viral video drawing over two-lakh views each.
Fact-check
Alt News performed a keyword search on Twitter and found that Mumbai-based journalist Faridoon Shahryar had posted the viral video on April 23. In the video, Amitabh extended his gratitude to the staff of Nanavati Hospital for their work during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
.@SrBachchan inspiring message to all the doctors and nurses who are working tirelessly and fearlessly to save lives#Covid_19 pic.twitter.com/hQzXX2vt3q
— Faridoon Shahryar (@iFaridoon) April 23, 2020
In the video, Amitabh talks about a billboard in Surat that he saw on Twitter. The billboard said that temples were closed because Gods are in hospitals wearing white coats. On April 23, YouTube channel of Gujarat-based ABP Asmita had uploaded a bulletin on the viral video.
The billboard in question was also shown by ABP Asmita.
Additionally, Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital clarified the same on Facebook and Twitter. As per the hospital’s statement, in April 2020 Amitabh Bachchan had donated PPE kits when Nanavati Hospital had created a dedicated COVID-19 facility.
— Nanavati Hospital (@Nanavati_H) July 12, 2020
Thus, media outlets and several other social media users shared an over two-month-old video of Amitabh Bachchan, misleading viewers to believe that the actor shot the video after he tested positive for coronavirus.
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.
