Raghav Chadha portrayed anti Jat, Gujjar, Bihari via fake newspaper clipping

An alleged newspaper clipping has been shared by several individual users on social media. It is titled – “पंजाबी वोटर अगर मेरा साथ दें तो देहाती जाट गुज्जरों और बिहारियों को धूल चटा दूंगा – राघव चड्ढा| (If Punjabi voters support me, I will defeat Jats, Gujjars and Biharis – Raghav Chadha)”

The quote attributed to the AAP candidate for South-East Delhi is also circulating on Twitter.

@raghav_chadha बेटा राघव चड्ढा इतना आसान नहीं है की बिहारियों को दिल्ली से भगाना आज दिल्ली में 90%बिहारी है बिहारी से पंगा लेना भारी पड़ सकता है तुम्हें और तुम्हारे पार्टी की एक बिहारी सौ पर भारी @Aap_Burari_02 @majorgauravarya @ArvindKejriwal @AamAadmiParty @AtishiAAP @BJP4India pic.twitter.com/At7MGXMCrn

— DEEPAK JHA ABVP🇮🇳 (@deepakjha_abvp) May 10, 2019

Fake newspaper clipping

Raghav Chadha rubbished the claims on his official Facebook page, terming the news fake and a work of photoshop.

The clipping can also be debunked using several other clues. The ludicrousness of the claim itself should raise doubts. The lack of media reports on the alleged statement further espouses its falseness. Lastly, the clipping has been made to resemble a newspaper cut-out, however, a quick glance is sufficient to reveal that it is manufactured.

1. The article has spelling and grammatical errors. In the title itself, the word ‘चटा’ is spelt ‘चाटा’. In the second paragraph, the word ‘नहीं ‘ is spelt ‘नही’. The sentence – “एक जनसभा को सम्बोधित करते हुए चड्डा ने कहा की “यदि पंजाबी समुदाय का शत प्रतिशत वोट…” – does not have a comma before the direct quote. In fact, none of the direct quotes in the article starts with a comma.

2. The report is not dated.

3. The article does not have a byline. All reports published in newspapers either carry the author’s name or mention that it is written by their bureau. In case the article is a news agency feed, the organisation’s name – for instance, PTI, ANI – is mentioned.

4. The sentences and paragraphs in the report are not perfectly aligned.

Circulating fake newspaper clipping is commonplace on social media. Any article that resembles a news report is a tactic to mislead readers into believing that the information is true. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was also targeted on social media using a fake newspaper clipping.