Shefali Vaidya did not pass off imitation jewellery as Tanishq piece, morphed tweet viral

Shefali Vaidya, BJP supporter and vocal Hindutva activist, has been critical of a recent Tanishq advertisement featuring an interfaith couple. Vaidya was among those asking for a boycott of the jewellery brand.

Several Twitter users shared a tweet ascribed to Vaidya claiming that she passed off imitation jewellery worth Rs 200 as a gold neckwear set bought from Tanishq at over Rs 1 lakh. The earliest to tweet was @Cheap_News which subsequently took down its post but not before garnering close to 4,000 likes.

Most individuals later took down their tweets mocking Vaidya for ‘lying’. Among them were activist Saket Gokhale, journalist Stuti Mishra, Twitter handle @scotchism and Priyanka Chowhan.

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Morphed tweet

Shefali Vaidya responded to numerous individuals who attributed the tweet to her and clarified that it’s ingenuine.

This is a #FakeTweet. Either delete it or be ready for legal action. https://t.co/Qoqn8jsgQM

— Shefali Vaidya. (@ShefVaidya) October 15, 2020

Apart from obvious discrepancies such as ‘@’ and letters ‘Y’ and ‘Q’ partially cut-off, elements of the morphed tweet are not aligned in one straight line. The photo of the jewellery set has crossed over the red line (drawn for reference) to the left. In a genuine tweet, the text and image are on the right of the reference line.

Twitter handle @BefittingFacts had tweeted about journalist Stuti Mishra’s erroneous tweet. “Using a photoshopped and fake tweet to malign [the] image of a lady,” he wrote while tagging the news organisation Mishra is associated with — UK-based The Independent.

Hello @Independent, is she your jaournalist? Using a photoshopped and fake tweet to malign image of a lady.
This is image is so badly photoshopped. ‘@’ and ‘Y’ are cut from bottom. Shefali doesnt make such bad english tweets. Please clear your stand. pic.twitter.com/zeKH2Q3i9W

— Facts (@BefittingFacts) October 15, 2020

Soon after, in an irony of sorts, @BefittingFacts shared a morphed tweet of Mishra similar to the one attributed to Vaidya. Alt News confirmed with the journalist that she did not post the tweet. Furthermore, a single copy of the tweet also points to its falseness.

Arre yaar @StuteeMishra kitna fenkte ho 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/bLJ8tGExRY

— Facts (@BefittingFacts) October 15, 2020