Verified By BOOM 22

Hello,

Wondering if I will talk about a new fact-checking tool this week? No!

I am going to tell you an even easier way to help you fact-check information. And yes, without using a fact-checking tool!

👋 I'm Divya Chandra, a fact-checker & producer of Verified by BOOM, let's begin.

✋ I have been talking about a lot of tools in our previous editions. While some of you might be using them in your daily lives, for others it might be a bit overwhelming. 

So, this week, I will tell you what you, as a non-fact-checker/ non-journalist/ non-media professional, can do to verify the 'forwards'  that come your way. 

Are you thinking I will suggest Googling? 🤔

Well, yes and no! 

✅ Yes—To people who think they're good at searching for information on Google. 

❎ No—To people who can search on Google but are confused about which link to trust and which not to. 

And to those who don't know how to search information on Google. 

But, hey!

BOOM

comes to the rescue! 

BOOM has a dedicated

WhatsApp tipline number 7700906588

wherein you can send queries to us on WhatsApp and we will fact-check them for you. 

You can send 🖼️ images, 💬 text, 📹 videos, 🔗 links that you are suspicious about and we will respond to you with verified information/ fact-checks.

↪️ Was this forwarded to you?

🛑 False Claims In October Prominently Targeted Rishi Sunak And The Central Government 

🔖We published 95 fact-checks in the month of October, each debunking a unique false/misleading claim. 

Our analysis revealed that most of such claims we encountered were political in nature, accounting for 45.3 per cent of our fact-checks, followed by international and communal claims, accounting for 14.7 per cent and 13.7 per cent, respectively. 

Muslims were the biggest target of false and misleading claims last month, making up 11.6 per cent, followed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (6.32 per cent), the Narendra Modi-led central government (5.26 per cent), and newly appointed British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (5.26 per cent).

Why Does Delhi Experience Frequent Tremors? Experts Explain

🔖 Residents of Delhi woke up to tremors in the early hours of Wednesday, 9 November. While the shaking was distinctly felt in Delhi, and the entire National Capital Region, the epicentre of the earthquake was far away, in Nepal. 

In light of the latest tremors, BOOM takes a look at why minor and moderate-intensity earthquakes are a regular feature in the Indian National Capital. 

Why Is Punjab's Stubble Burning 12 Times More Than Haryana's? 

🔖 Paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana, neighbouring areas to the national capital, has been a major factor in high pollution levels during this season. 

This year as per the data maintained by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), between 15 September and 5 November, a total of 29,400 stubble-burning events were detected in Punjab alone. It was followed by 2,530 farm fires in Haryana. 

The difference between the numbers in the respective states is remarkable. BOOM spoke to farmers, food policy analysts to understand the reasons behind this difference. 

Meanwhile, Delhi’s air pollution has remained in the severe category despite some measures by the Arvind Kejriwal-led government. BOOM spoke to Delhi residents to understand how they are coping with the severely polluted air.

🔖 A viral video claiming to show students at Bengaluru's Christ College dancing to a 'Jai Shri Ram' song at a college festival, is fake as the audio has been tampered with by overlaying the song onto the clip. 

🔖 A tweet by a Twitter account impersonating Sudha Murty, author and chairperson of the Infosys Foundation, had gone viral with several Twitter users believing it to be Murty's official account. 

What did the tweet show? What's the context? Read our fact-check to find out.

We have been rigorously conducting LIVE workshops on busting fake news and telling you how to consume media. Check out our existing courses👇

If you have suggestions about this newsletter or want us to conduct workshops on specific topics, drop us a line at 👉 

[email protected]

 and we will get back to you in a jiffy.

Thanks for reading. See you next Saturday 👋