A teenage girl was allegedly kidnapped by four men, Saleem, Aslam, Akram and Ayub, in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffaranagar and gang raped for ten days. It was also reported that the girl was forced to eat meat and given drugs while she was repeatedly raped for ten days. A Twitter user tweeted the details and Muzaffarnagar Police’s Twitter handle refuted the claims of the girl being forced to eat meat.
However, propagandists targeted the individual and led an online mob towards him bullying him saying that he was lying about the girl being forced to eat meat. Rather than focusing on the heinous crime such as rape, the focus shifted on the fact that the individual was followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
This was the tweet of the so called “fact checker”:
Followed by @narendramodi. Spreads rumours. Cycle continues. pic.twitter.com/QT0Z8aK3AU
— Pratik Sinha (@free_thinker) September 19, 2017
He was also supported by some of the so called liberals:
Such gangs spreading fake, hate rumours are committing serious crimes in Law. Instead of arresting them, Modi promotes them&felicitates them https://t.co/eMX0KJKFmB
— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) September 20, 2017
They manufacture mass hysteria hatred and fear by spreading false rumours. https://t.co/5Tnd5dUhlr
— shahid siddiqui (@shahid_siddiqui) September 20, 2017
However, details have now emerged that the girl has mentioned in her FIR to the police that she was indeed forced to eat meat.
6) Let’s see this so called fact checker @free_thinker issue fact clarification or stand with his half-truth agenda to defame me & PM Modi. pic.twitter.com/ZJg10aZCWC
— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) September 22, 2017
Even Zee News editor Rohit Sadanad uploaded a video of the victim:
How so called ‘fake news busters’ peddling agendas to change narrative, Muzaffarnagar victim sets the record straight. pic.twitter.com/ET91q9OAKp
— Rohit Sardana (@sardanarohit) September 23, 2017
As clearly seen in the video, the victim claimed that she was confined by the youths for 10 days. There according to her they raped her and also forced her to eat meat. She also claimed that tried to force her to convert to Islam.
So not only did the “fact checker” get his facts wrong, he hasn’t yet apologised for his hit job on a private citizen or even at-least tried to put out the correct facts.
Coming back to the case, as of now, one of the accused, Salim, has been arrested while three are still absconding.
Gang rape of minor registered at Bhopa Muzzafarnagar.Main accused Salim arrested.Investigation in progress.
— DGP UP (@dgpup) September 22, 2017
Even as there is an increase in “fact-checker” websites, most had called out the user for stating what was actually mentioned in the FIR only because he is followed by the Prime Minister. Aam Aadmi Party’s mouthpiece Janta Ka Reported developed a story on how Anshul, the Twitter user, was followed by the Prime Minister, instead of focusing on the fact that he tweeted about a girl being allegedly raped by four men.
SHOCKING! Man followed by PM Modi caught spreading lies, this time on Muzaffarnagar’s alleged gang-rape incident https://t.co/n0GsL01YTO
— Janta Ka Reporter (@JantaKaReporter) September 20, 2017
The ideological wars on social media has taken a turn such that focus on the story shifted from the fact that a minor girl was gang raped by four men for ten days to a “Twitter user followed by PM Modi ‘spreads’ rumours”. This has often seen private citizens, especially those considered to be right-leaning, as being the cannon fodder.
