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Hello,

With the news cycle churning out more information, also comes more mis/disinformation. One such example is: Manipur violence. 

We are seeing direct correlation between false information and real life impact. So, how can YOU help in curbing the spread of misinformation?

Find out in this edition!

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A select group of 13 teen fact-checkers from all over India will pitch, write and record 10 fact checks covering technology, health and nutrition, education, and finance. Fact checks will be done in English as well as other regional languages, and published on BOOM’s YouTube, Instagram and Linkedin social profiles.

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🔖 BOOM has debunked 20 false and misleading claims around the Manipur clashes. But, why is it relevant to you? 

Because it's time you hit that PAUSE button before 'forwarding'. Here are 6 essential tips to battle misinformation.

• Question the sourceIs the viral message telling the source of information to you? If not, ask the person or account who shared it.

• Search for fact-checksMore often than not, you will find a fact-check article on online misinformation that went viral. When you search on Google using relevant keywords, and if there is a pre-existing fact-check, then usually fact-checks are ranked much higher on the search result page as compared to other articles.

Watch this video to find out more such useful tips. 

🅱️ Quiz

Do you know what really happened in the news this week? Find out by taking the BOOM quiz:

👆 Simply click on image below to start the quiz!

🤥 The Lie Count

18

Fact-Checks Published

Alarmist claims were most predominant (50%), followed by Communal claims (22%) and Political ones (17%).

A significant surge in alarmist claims were tied to the false narratives surrounding the clashes in Manipur. Read our Twitter thread to know the detailed analysis by Debraj Sarkar.

🍵 The Halal Tea Debate: What Does It Mean To Be Halal-Certified?

🔖 Recently, a video of a heated argument between an Indian railways employee and a passenger enraged after being offered 'halal-certified tea' had gone viral. The passenger in the video enquired about halal-certified tea and why it was being offered during the month of Sawan. 

BOOM’s Hera Rizwan took a closer look at the meaning of halal certification in India. 

Read More

📇 Battle For Recognition: Why It’s So Difficult To Get Transgender IDs

🔖 Seven months have passed since Ranjita registered on the National Portal for Transgender Persons for a transgender identity card. 

“To have to carry the burden of the name you were given at birth or your dead name is a harrowing experience. I have spent many sleepless nights praying for the day when I would be allowed to call myself as I feel,” said Ranjita, as she stared away with a forlorn look on her face. 

Decode’s Titha Ghosh spoke to several transgender persons who complained about severe administrative delays in the process of getting a transgender (TG) ID.

Read More

🚫 Fake News You Almost Fell For

🔍 Bharatiya Janata Party's national spokesperson, Shehzad Poonawalla, in a recent TV debate with national spokesperson for the Indian National Congress Supriya Shrinate falsely claimed that the then prime minister of the UPA government, Manmohan Singh never visited or spoke about Assam or any other northeast state when violence erupted during his tenure. Read🔗Nidhi Jacob’s↗  fact-check.

🔍 A video showing Kukis holding a memorial service to pay tribute to their deceased loved ones in the ongoing violence in Manipur had been doctored by overlaying misleading subtitles and was falsely shared claiming the ethnic community made calls for violence against the Meitei community. Here’s how 🔗Swasti Chatterjee↗ debunked the claim.

🔍 A viral WhatsApp message claiming a 500 rupee note with an asterisk or 'star' sign in the number panel is fake and urging people not to accept such currency notes, is false and misleading. BOOM’s 🔗Srijit Das↗ found out.

🔍 Does this video show a poisonous snake inside a capsicum? Read this fact-check by 🔗Hazel Gandhi↗ to find out.

🔍 Meanwhile, BOOM conducted a Twitter Spaces on the misinformation around the Manipur violence. 🔗Tune in↗ to listen to the recording.

🅱️ Recommends

📖 This week's recommendation is: Disinformation as a Political Communication by Deen Freelon and Chris Wells

This article serves as an introduction to the special issue, “Beyond Fake News: The Politics of Disinformation”. It cursorily touches upon two salient domains of disinformation research - content and reception. It concludes with suggestions for making information-manipulation-based research more fruitful.

Read More

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Verified By Boom is written by Divya Chandra, edited by Adrija Bose

and designed by H Shiva Roy Chowdhury.

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 week.👋

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