On June 3, a wave of appreciation tweets for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi flooded social media after it was claimed that he is the ‘most updated politician in the fields of technology and policy in entire South Asia’. An American Think-Tank RAND Corporation was dragged in to give this ‘news’ more authenticity.
It all started with a tweet by Investigative journalist and Founder Editor of Desh 24×7 Deepak Sharma. In his now-deleted tweet, Sharma claimed, “American Think Tank RAND Corporation has said that Rahul Gandhi is the most updated politician in the fields of Technology and Policy. But ‘saheb’ has taught the public that he is ‘Pappu’. The propaganda machine is amazing.” ‘Saheb’ is often used for PM Modi by the ‘liberals’, and ‘Pappu’ is the often-used moniker for Rahul Gandhi.
Many Twitter users like BefittingFacts, commented on his tweet and sought the source for the information that Sharma had shared.
Instead of sharing any information about the source, Sharma decided to restrict comments on his Tweet. Later, he deleted the tweet.
However, by then, the alleged ‘moment of happiness’ had spread throughout the Congress ecosystem, and not only Rahul Gandhi’s supporters but Congress leaders and official handles too jumped in to gloat about it.
Indian Express Journalist Pranav Mishra wrote, “American think tank RAND Corporation has said that Rahul Gandhi is today the most updated leader in South Asia in the field of technology and policy.” He tagged Rahul Gandhi and Congress leader Srinivas in his tweet.
Madhya Pradesh Congress Sevadal said, “American Think Tank RAND Corporation has said Rahul Gandhi is the most updated politician in the fields of Technology and Policy. Some people get stuck in propaganda machinery and laugh at Rahul Gandhi. Today, the truth is in front of everyone.”
Social ‘activist’ Chinu Mahapatra joined in as well and said, “According to journalist Deepak Sharma, American think tank RAND CORPORATION has said Rahul Gandhi is the best leader in South Asia in the field of technology and policy. But our Samrat Modi and his team are always trying to degrade him as a Papu.”
Working President of Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee, Shyam Sunder Singh Dhiraj said, “American Think Tank RAND Corporation has said Rahul Gandhi is the most updated politician in the fields of Technology and Policy. But Saheb’s’ (ran away from school, and begged during his youth) Godi Media have made the broker of false dreams a Vishwaguru.”
What OpIndia found during its investigation?
During the investigation, we checked the website and social media handles of RAND Organisation to see if they released any ranking for the politicians in recent times. We could not find any. Interestingly, many Twitter users have tagged the organisation for explanation over the claims made by Congress workers and leaders along with journalists, but there was no official statement by them.