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Verified By BOOM 89

Verified By BOOM 89

Did a Pakistani Power Company Buy Electoral Bonds in India?

March 15, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Browser View | March 16, 2024 | Subscribe

Hello,

The Election Commission of India has published the electoral bonds data. A screenshot showing 'Hub Power Company' as one of the purchasers of electoral bonds in India went viral claiming that the company is based out of Pakistan.

But, is it? Find out in this edition.

📣 Empowering the Truth Global Summit

It's the third week of ICFJ’s Empowering the Truth Global Summit! Listen to Asia’s leading voice in news literacy Masato Kajimoto speak on strengthening audience trust in media. Register now for the free virtual session on 21 March at 5 pm IST.

Did Rahul Gandhi Ask For The Tricolour To Be Removed At A Rally? A FactCheck

True, False, Partially False, Partially True, Misleading, Out of context.

These are some of the commonly used ratings when deciding the nature of the viral claim being fact-checked.

A lot of times, the messaging is not completely true or completely false. Rather, what’s missing is: context.

For example, a recent video of Rahul Gandhi asking the crowd at his rally for a stick which had the Indian flag on it was shared on social media with the claim that the Congress leader asked for the Indian flag to be removed during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Maharashtra.

But, did he? BOOM found that viral video is cropped. Gandhi actually asked the crowd for a stick to demonstrate how the central government allegedly misuses central agencies.

Electoral Bonds Data: Future Gaming Tops Donor List, BJP Tops Donee

🔖 Future Gaming and Hotel Services PR, a Coimbatore-based lottery firm, is the largest donor of electoral bonds, contributing over Rs 1,368 crore to political parties, as per the electoral bonds data published by the Election Commission of India.

The top 20 donors include big names such as:

Multinational mining company Vedanta
Sunil Mittal’s telecommunications company Bharti Airtel
AV Birla group-promoted Essel Mining
DLF Commercial Developers, and others, collectively contributed more than Rs 5,800 crore, accounting to nearly 48% of the total bonds purchased.

Read Nidhi Jacob’s report.

Did A Pakistani Power Company Buy Electoral Bonds In India? A FactCheck

🔖 Meanwhile, did Pakistan's 'The Hub Power Company Limited' purchase electoral bonds in India? BOOM’s Hazel Gandhi found that the viral claim is false. Read this fact-check to find out more.

Misinformation Last Month

🔖 In February, BOOM published 106 fact-checks in English, Hindi and Bangla. The bulk of the claims, totaling 24 fact-checks, were directed at Indian farmers, followed by 16 fact-checks targeting the Muslim community.

Rahul Gandhi was the next most targeted individual, with 9 fact-checks, among others. Read the detailed analysis by Nidhi Jacob.

A Fake News Led To Mob Lynching, Six Years On Victims Find Justice

🔖 Six years ago, two families were torn apart by a mob that lynched 45-year-old Mohammed Qasim and grievously injured then 68-year-old Samaydeen. On Tuesday, a Hapur court convicted 10 adults and sentenced them to life in prison. They have also been fined Rs. 58,000 each.

Apart from their religion, they have nothing in common. And yet, they were linked by a common incident that changed their lives.

BOOM’s Ritika Jain went on ground to speak to the victims and their families.

🚫 Fake News You Almost Fell For

🔍 A fake document claiming a gazetted circular has been issued by the government of India, announcing the appointment of Dr Rajesh Kumar Gupta and Priyansh Sharma as the new election commissioners went viral. 🔗 Hazel Gandhi ↗️ debunked the claim.

🔍 Did BJP’s Manohar Lal Khattar cry after his resignation as Haryana chief minister? Find out in 🔗 Srijit Das’ ↗️ fact-check.

🔍 A screenshot purporting to show Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif criticising India's Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) and proposing a similar law in Pakistan for Indian Muslims, is fake. BOOM’s 🔗 Anmol Alphonso ↗️ found out the truth.

🅱️ Recommends

📖 This week's recommendation is: Election disinformation takes a big leap with AI being used to deceive worldwide by Ali Swenson & Kelvin Chan

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