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US Congressman claims whether he had sex with Chinese spy Fang Fang is ‘classified information’, blames Trump instead

OpIndia Staff
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US Congressman claims whether he had sex with Chinese spy Fang Fang is ‘classified information’, blames Trump instead

Prominent Democrat Congressman, and a member of the House Intel Committee, Eric Swalwell is suspected to have been in an intimate relationship with a Chinese spy before the woman left the USA in 2015. Meanwhile, he has repeatedly refused to answer whether he had sex with the woman claiming that it is “classified information”.

The revelation came as part of an Axios investigation into an intelligence operation that targeted promising politicians who could make it big on the national stage. Axios revealed that the intelligence operative in question, Christine Fang or Fang Fang, used campaign fundraising, extensive networking, personal charisma, and romantic or sexual relationships to gain proximity to those with political power.

Eric Swalwell was one of the most significant targets of Fang. As per the report on Axios, Fang took part in fundraising efforts for the US Congressman’s re-election efforts in 2014. However, she personally did not make any contributions and no illegality was committed. Swalwell was alerted to her antics by federal investigators in 2015.

Swalwell’s office told Axios in a statement, “Rep. Swalwell, long ago, provided information about this person — whom he met more than eight years ago, and whom he hasn’t seen in nearly six years — to the FBI. To protect information that might be classified, he will not participate in your story.” Eric Swalwell reportedly cut off all ties with Fang following the intelligence briefing.

Fang also had sexual or romantic relationships with at least two midwestern mayors. One of them even referred to her as his “girlfriend”. Fang left the United States sometime in 2015. However, she remains Facebook friends with Swalwell’s family, as per reports.

Eric Swalwell, however, believes that the story has broken out only now because he has been critical of US President Donald Trump. “I’ve spoken out against him. I was on both committees that worked to impeach him. The timing feels like that should be looked at,” he said. “What it appears though that this person — as the story reports — was unsuccessful in whatever they were trying to do. But if intelligence officials are trying to weaponize someone’s cooperation, they are essentially seeking to do what this person was not able to do, which is to try and discredit someone,” he added.

“At the same time this story was being leaked out is the time that I was working on impeachment on the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees,” Swalwell told CNN. “If this is a country where people who criticize the President are going to have law enforcement information weaponized against them, that’s not a country that any of us want to live in. I hope it is investigated who leaked this information,” he added.

Apart from Eric Swalwell, another prominent Democrat who was targeted is Ro Khanna. However, it is not yet clear how successful she was with him. However, with Swalwell, Fang was able to place an intern in his office. House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy has said that Swalwell is no longer qualified to serve on the Intel Committee.

“Rep. Swalwell has long been disqualified from serving on the Intel Committee. For years he peddled Russian disinformation for political gain. Now we find out he was involved in an effort by a reported spy to gather info for China. Swalwell is a national security liability,” he said.

‘Trash streaming’: Disturbing Russian trend where people stream what their viewers pay them to, even torture and death

OpIndia Staff
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‘Trash streaming’: Disturbing Russian trend where people stream what their viewers pay them to, even torture and death

It was only in 2017, that Russia almost decriminalised domestic violence to a large extent. According to Moscow Times, “minor harm,” such as small lacerations and bruising, will now be considered a misdemeanour punishable by a fine of up to $500 or up to 15 days in jail. Earlier, it could invite up to 2 years in prison. The Russian Orthodox Church had a massive role in the shocking step. The culture of not taking domestic abuse too seriously had pervaded Russia for many years, fuelled by the Orthodox Church. The over-arching mentality has now translated into what is known as ‘trash streaming’ in Russia.

A sub-culture where Russian YouTubers are paid money by their viewers to pull sickening stunts, that often involve murder, assault, torture and even the sexualisation of young girls.

A few days ago, a Russian YouTuber called Stas Reeflay made his pregnant wife stand in the balcony in sub-zero temperatures, wearing nothing but her undergarments. He did so because a viewer paid by $1000 for the stunt.

Eventually, his pregnant wife died in the cold, reportedly, due to suspected hypothermia.

Grigoryeva was 28 years old and was born in the southern city of Krasnodar. According to the Telegram channel Mash, she was pregnant. This has been refuted by Russia’s Investigative Committee, however. According to a medical examination, Grigoryeva suffered a closed craniocerebral trauma, multiple bruises, and a subdural hematoma.

This was not it. After his wife died in the cold, because he was paid to torture her to stand in the balcony wearing nothing but her undergarments, he placed the body of his wife on the sofa and continued to Livestream. Reeflay — whose real name is Stanislav Reshetnikov — continued recording even after he realized that his girlfriend was “half-dead” on a balcony at his home in the village of Ivanovka, near Moscow, East2West reported.

According to reports, he had even streamed live the arrival of the ambulance and had switched his streaming off only after a police officer asked him to.

After trying to revive his wife, the YouTuber told his viewers, “Guys … No pulse … she’s pale. She is not breathing.”

This was not the first time that Reeflay had pulled such a horrid stunt, torturing his wife for money.

According to reports, he had earlier showered his girlfriend with pepper spray, because his viewers paid him money to torture his wife.

Reeflay faces up to two years in prison if forensic experts prove that the woman died of hypothermia, according to the Mirror, citing reports about law enforcement.

“Information will also be checked about possible unlawful actions against the deceased by the young man in whose house the body was found,” the Russian Investigative Committee said, the outlet reported.

Reportedly, Reeflay has no regrets and has been transferred to the psychiatric ward.

How ‘trash streaming’ began – one of the first ‘trash streamers’, Mellstroy

One of the first ‘trash streaming’ YouTubers that Russia saw was one called Mellstroy (Andrey Burim). A native of Belarus, he started his streaming ‘career’ at least three years ago. Burim’s videos are often set in a high-rise apartment in the expensive ‘Moscow City’ business district. He often streams with several online guests, that often include very young girls.

When he started streaming, Mellstroy would look for young girls on video chat applications and then, convince them to strip naked for him. While he did that, he would reportedly also stream live on YouTube and collect donations from his viewers, according to RT.com.

After he had a brush in with the law in 2017 for getting underage girls to strip and then live-streaming the video, he used to also promote the young girls’ Instagram channel over Telegram, telling his followers about the accounts of the girls he had on his YouTube show.

In his streams, Mellstroy has paid girls to strip, given money to two guests to have a fight, and even doused someone with urine – all to collect donations from his audience of thousands, and used to garner millions of views, per RT.com. On October 23, when he was arrested after beating Alena Efremova, a 21-year-old model, live on air. After she joked about his body, he smashed her head against a table, causing bodily harm. Thereafter, he was banned from YouTube as an investigation has been launched. The model who was attacked, received a closed craniocerebral injury, concussion, and bruises.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGhOLw2nhgp/?utm_source=ig_embed

Thereafter several others from Russia who have joined this heinous trend. In October 2020, live streamers in the city of Bryansk reportedly earned 812,000 rubles for tormenting a homeless man. The homeless man, sadly allowed himself to be humiliated in return for food, reported RT.com. In 2019, blogger Gobsavr (Andrey Yashin) hit his mother with a champagne bottle. During the lockdown imposed due to Coronavirus, the ‘trash streaming’ phenomenon has gained popularity. RT reports that creator of popular YouTube channel Versus Battle (4.55 million subscribers) founded Sosed TV, where several people move into a house together and then do whatever their viewers pay them to do.

Priests from Sringeri perform Bhumi Pujan as PM Modi lays foundation stone of new parliament building: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Priests from Sringeri perform Bhumi Pujan as PM Modi lays foundation stone of new parliament building: Read details

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the Bhumi Pujan for the new Parliament building, which is being built at an estimated cost of Rs 971 crore.

The Central Vista project, one of Modi government ambitious project, involves the redevelopment of the area known as Central Vista Avenue, the area between the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the India Gate.

The Bhumi Pujan event was performed as per Hindu traditions and several religious ceremonies were scheduled to be held on the occasion of the historic event. A team of priests from Shri Sharada Pitham from Sringeri performed various pujas. Leaders of various other faiths were also present to recite prayers during the foundation laying ceremony.

Reportedly, Union Parliamentary Affairs Ministers Pralhad Joshi was given responsibility by Prime Minister Modi to organise the foundation laying ceremony. PM Modi had personally conveyed Joshi to invite priests to perform religious rituals on Thursday’s event. Accordingly, Minister Pralhad Joshi had requested the Jagadguru Sri Bharathi Theertha Mahaswamiji of the Sringeri Sharada Pitham, who had, in turn, promised to send a team of Vedic scholars and priests to New Delhi.

Team of six priests to perform various Puja

A team of six priests reached the capital on Tuesday to prepare for the pujas to be performed on the occasion of Bhumi Puja ceremony. Acharya V Shivakumar Sharma, KS Lakshmi Narayana Somayaji, KS Ganesh Somayaji, Nagaraja Adiga, Raghavendra Bhatta and Rishyasringa have flown to New Delhi to conduct rituals and Puja as per Hindu traditions on Thursday as PM Modi lays the foundation for the new parliament.

During the ceremony, the priests from Sringeri will perform Guru Puja, Ganapathi Puja, Punyaha Vachana, Adikesha Puja, Anantha Pooja, Varaha Puja and Bhuvaneshwari Puja.

The Sringeri Sharada Peetham has also sent a special ‘Shankh’ or conch and ‘Navarathna Peetam’, blessed by Jagadguru himself, to be placed at the foundation of the new parliament project.

A ‘sarva dharma prarthana’ (inter-faith prayer) was also conducted. Religious leaders of various faiths recited prayers and gave their blessings for the new building.

Magsaysay Awardee NDTV India editor Ravish Kumar lies about Adani’s grain silos in Punjab amid ongoing farmer protests

OpIndia Staff
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Magsaysay Awardee NDTV India editor Ravish Kumar lies about Adani’s grain silos in Punjab amid ongoing farmer protests

Magsaysay Awardee NDTV India’s Editor Ravish Kumar has done it again. Resorted to spreading lies and misinformation in middle of protests. In his show Prime Time aired on the Hindi offering of NDTV on 7th December, Ravish Kumar claimed that just before the new farm laws were passed by the Central government, Indian conglomerate Adani Group built grain silos in Punjab and Bihar.

Ravish Kumar’s Facebook post

Casting aspersions on Adani Group, Ravish Kumar claimed that the farmers are questioning the setting up of grain silos in Punjab by Ahmedabad-based corporate. For this, Ravish cites a 2016 article which claiming to be that of 2019.

Ravish Kumar passing off 2016 report as 2019 report

In the video, however, he does mention that the above report is from 2016.

He then further questions that if Adani is storing the gains in silos owned by FCI (Food Corporation of India), is procuring grains from farmers, won’t they suffer loss if they are not getting MSP (Minimum Selling Price). Here Ravish Kumar is already assuming that the Adani Group will exploit farmers by not giving them a fair price for their produce.

Ravish Kumar then questions whether these new laws were made for the benefit of these corporates.

Ravish Kumar casting aspersions

However, Ravish Kumar seems to have picked up the the narrative from WhatsApp forwards and fake news being tweeted on Twitter.

One Satinder Kaur claimed that Adani set up grain silo in Punjab’s Moga within days of passing the bill.

Similar claims were made by other Twitter accounts.

In fact, Aam Aadmi Party leaders also led the protests against Adani’s grain silos in Punjab.

However, that is not true. In 2005, Adani got into a BOO (Build, Own, Operate) agreement with FCI to set up grain silos in Moga and Kaithal. A 2008 report said that the silos were operational and 3 lakh tonnes of wheat produce was procured for FCI in the previous season.

Interestingly, the grain silos operated by Adani and owned by FCI in Punjab, actually procure food grains at MSP.

In a statement released by Adani Group on 8th December, the company clarified that they have no role in deciding either the volume of storage of grains or the price at which they are procured. Adani clarified that it only provides infrastructure facility to the FCI. It is the FCI which controls the procurement and movement of grains for Public Distribution System.

The company also mentioned how they are in fact helping the farmers, who are primary beneficiaries, by providing such infrastructure support. The FCI is the nodal central agency which works with other state agencies to procure wheat and paddy from farmers under the price support system.

What is even worse is that the misinformation that Ravish Kumar peddles on 7th December, 2020, was already debunked by various media outlets as early as October 2020 when the bills were passed.

To quote the NDTV India Editor, why Ravish Kumar chose to deliberately mislead his viewers and general public at large, only he can tell.

AICC spokesperson wants Sonia Gandhi’s biography as Telangana school syllabus. The whole biography, right?

Sanghamitra
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AICC spokesperson wants Sonia Gandhi’s biography as Telangana school syllabus. The whole biography, right?

Yesterday was the 74th birthday of Congress’ default president Sonia Gandhi. With a lot of grace and unbridled kindness, she had announced that she would not celebrate her birthday. As is the norm most of the years, the current news headline was cited as the reason she would not celebrate her birthday. The grand festivities that befits the birthday of the Congress queen were thus cancelled and we got no visuals of family cake-cutting from the resort in Goa either.

However, loyal Congress leaders cannot seem to cope with the cancellation of their queen’s birthday festivities. Given their way, they would declare December 9 a national holiday and commemorate it with government-sponsored celebrations. If only the parsimonious chaiwallah who has usurped the PM’s chair knew anything about grand celebrations and dynastical glory.

So, displaying the loyalty to the dynasty and in an attempt to enlighten a generation of Indians that may not have noticed the thousands of schools, colleges, parks, roads, grounds, stations, airports and bridges named after the Gandhis, Sravan Dasoju, the AICC spokesperson, has requested the Telangana CM K Chandrasekhara Rao to include Her Highness Sonia Gandhi’s biography as a part of school syllabus in the state.

We however, have certain doubts that need clarification:

  1. Will the biography mention the maiden name of Her Highness Sonia Gandhi? Antonia Maino? Asking for a friend, because, the last time someone said it on TV, he got a few dozen FIRs against his name.
  2. Will the biography include the details of her schooling, qualification and other family details, like her father’s occupation?
  3. Will the biography include the details of her teenage years, as in where she worked, if she had a part-time job etc?
  4. Will the biography have details of the mysterious holidays spent with friends and family on board Indian Navy Aircraft carriers? Asking because that would be cool, who gets to use an aircraft carrier as a family taxi?

The confusion of surnames

We really hope that once we see a biography, the perplexing confusion regarding the surnames of the dynasty will be sorted. Grand rulers and scions of grand dynasties always use fancy titles and we, the drama loving Indians will surely love to address our kings and queens as Rahul the Rafale-rouser, Priyanka the farming fairy, as such. But the whole surname affair is really really confusing. Mrs Indira Gandhi became Gandhi from Nehru because of marriage, adapting her marital surname. But Priyanka is addressed only as Priyanka Gandhi. and we are not supposed to even mention Maino. It is not fair. The biography must elaborate on the Maino side of Her Highness’ life or so many children will be left disappointed.

Why just a biography?

Why just a biography? There should be statues, a museum and at least a dozen roads and bridges named after Her Highness. Why? What do you mean why? Dynasties are not to be questioned. They are to be revered. after all:

Advert by TN Congress leader in The Hindu. Image via Twitter

Waiting for the necessary decisions on this regard not just by Telangana CM, but also the kanjoos people who have forcefully occupied power in Delhi.

Watch: YSRCP leader, D Revathi, refuses to pay toll tax, slaps worker after toppling the barricade

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: YSRCP leader, D Revathi, refuses to pay toll tax, slaps worker after toppling the barricade

In shocking visuals that have emerged, Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) leader, D Revathi, was seen slapping a toll plaza worker in Andhra Pradesh.

According to ANI, the incident took place at the Kaja Toll in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh.

The YSRCP leader reportedly refused to pay toll tax and thus, an argument broke out, resulting in her slapping the toll plaza worker.

In the video, it can be seen that D Revathi first forcefully tried to remove the barricade at the toll plaza and gets into a heated exchange with the toll plaza workers. The workers on the other hand, were trying to ensure that the barricade stays in place.

Becoming increasingly violent, Revathi manages to topple the barricade over with her hands and then, when the toll plaza worker objects, she slaps him.

Following her arrogance, an argument again breaks out between her and the toll plaza workers.

YSRCP leaders and their arrogance recently called out by the Court

The arrogance of YSRCP leaders was even called out by the High Court recently. During the hearing of a petition filed by the High Court in-charge registrar, the Andhra Pradesh High Court had expressed displeasure over the Crime Investigation Department (CID) failing to act on the cases of negative social media posts about the High Court judges. 

Condemning the social media posts targeting the judiciary, a Bench of Justice Rakesh Kumar and J Uma Devi said that the court would look into the possibility of a larger conspiracy behind such posts against the judiciary in the state.

The court made the above-mentioned remarks after an MP Vijayasai Reddy of the YSRC party made certain questionable remarks against the Andhra Pradesh judiciary. YSRCP leaders have been launching verbal attacks openly against the High Court in recent times. YSRCP MP Vijaysai Reddy had stated in Rajya Sabha, “The AP judiciary is not impartial and it has to be stopped. It is unfortunate that courts are hindering the investigation into scams. As lawmakers, we have the right to raise the issue in Parliament and speak about the functioning of the judiciary in AP”. 

The YSRCP leaders have been criticising the HC after its request for a CBI probe into the ‘Amaravati scam’ was rejected by the High Court.

‘Naxal movement was always a farmers movement’: Farmer org reveals demand to release urban Naxals and Delhi riots accused

OpIndia Staff
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‘Naxal movement was always a farmers movement’: Farmer org reveals demand to release urban Naxals and Delhi riots accused

The farmer protest ongoing in Delhi, mostly by Punjab farmers has morphed into another show of strength by those who wish the see the ‘tukde tukde’ of India. While we have extensively covered how the protest was hijacked by Khalistani elements, now, it seems that certain organisations are all set to use the veil of farmers protest to demand the release of those who killed Hindus during the Delhi Riots and Urban Naxals arrested for waging a war against India.

It is now being reported that BKU (Ugrahan) is all set to use the farmers’ protest to demand the release of several urban Naxals like Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Gautam Navlakha, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira who have been booked under UAPA and others who have been arrested for their role in the anti-Hindu Delhi riots that claimed the lives of over 50 people in the national capital, including that of Ankit Sharma, an IB official who was murdered amidst chants of Allahu Akbar and Dilbar Negi, whose hands and legs were chopped off before he was burnt to death by a Muslim mob.

Jhanda Singh Jethuke, senior vice-president of BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) said, “We will celebrate International Human Rights Day at Baba Banda Singh Nagar, near Tikri border, to raise our voices for the release of intellectuals and human rights activists. Demand for the release of these prisoners has been raised constantly throughout the agitation. Modi government is running a Fascist agenda. On one hand, it is promoting Adani and Ambani and on the other hand, it is pushing intellectuals and activities into jail. Around two dozen activists have been booked under UAPA for Bhima Koregaon and instigating Delhi riots”.

Interestingly, the lawyer of BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) said that the release of these ‘activists’ has been an ongoing one since the beginning of the farmer protest. He also went on to say that Naxalism has helped tribal people claim their rights.

According to Indian Express, the lawyer and coordination of BKU said, “It has been part of our demands from the very first day to release human rights activists locked up in jails”.

Further, he reportedly said that the “Government has said that the farm agitation is provoked by urban Naxals, Congress and Khalistanis. Urban Naxal is an excuse to prosecute people. In Punjab, people are sandwiched between state terrorism and terrorists…Naxalism has helped tribal people claim their rights”.

In a further shocking statement, the lawyer and coordinator of the BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) organisation, NK Jeet, said that it is their conscious decision to support these ‘accused’. While he denounced Khalistanis saying that they were never a part of the farmer protest, he said that “The Naxal movement was always a farmers’ movement all over India. Releasing these accused is a demand of BKU. We made it part of memorandum to government related to farm Bills”.

It is being reported that pictures of more than 20 accused will be installed on a stage near the Tikri border. Many “human rights groups” are also expected to participate.

The revelation that the release of those accused in the anti-Hindu Delhi Riots and urban Naxals arrested under UAPA has ‘always’ formed a part of the farmers’ demand and that it was, according to NK Jeet, made it a part of the memorandum to government reveals that from the very beginning, the demands were not about farmers bills and the protests are fuelled by something far more sinister than the supposed issues that they foresee with the bills passed by the government.

Interestingly, a screenshot of the farmer’s demands had gone viral on the internet a few days ago. In the screenshot, there were 6 demands of the farmers that had been mentioned.

Screenshot of the farmers’ demands that had gone viral on the internet

The sixth demand in the screenshot, was the demand to release ‘Intellectuals, poets, lawyers, writers and activists’ and the withdrawal of cases against them.

What is interesting in the screenshot, is that an additional demand of repealing the law that penalised stubble burning, the main cause of pollution in the National Capital Region.

Since there was no official confirmation on whether these indeed were the demands made to the government by the farmers, this screenshot was mostly limited to social media shares, however, with the comments of the BKU, it becomes evident that these demands were indeed made to the government by the so-called farmers.

Further, the true intention of these organisations is revealed when BKU co-ordinator openly defends Naxalism and says that it had always been a ‘farmers movement’.

Yesterday, the agitating farmers from Punjab rejected the proposals sent by the union government, remaining adamant with their demand that the new farm laws must be withdrawn. The farmer organisations have decided only to continue the protest, but also to intensify the same. Announcing the decision, Darshan Pal, President of Krantikari Kisan Union, said that they are rejecting the proposals of the govt. He also announced that the farmers will block the Delhi-Jaipur and Delhi-Agra highways on 12th December as part of the agitation. They will also capture the toll plazas on the highways across the country, freeing them.

Clearly, the demands that they want met have less to do with the farm laws and more to do with the release of those who wanted to break India, like those accused in the Delhi anti-Hindu riots and the accused urban Naxals. With these elements now rejecting the proposal by the government and planning to block more highways, it becomes evident that these protests are being modelled after the Shaheen Bagh protests, where the aim is to disrupt the nation and create unrest.

Indus Valley Civilisation: From cattle to pig, here is what prehistoric people in Indian subcontinent ate, according to new research

OpIndia Staff
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Indus Valley Civilisation: From cattle to pig, here is what prehistoric people in Indian subcontinent ate, according to new research

A research paper titled “Lipid residues in pottery from the Indus Civilisation in northwest India” published by the Journal of Archeological Science gives an insight into what the prehistoric people who lived during the Indus Valley Civilisation ate. As per the study, about 80% of the faunal assemblage (animal fossil) from various Indus sites belonged to domestic animal species, with cattle/buffaloes being the highest at almost 50-60%. Sheep and goats accounted to about 10% of animal remains.

The study suggests that the high percentage of cattle bones found suggest that there was a cultural preference for beef across Indus Valley Civilisation which was supplemented by mutton/lamb. Pigs make up about 2–3% of total faunal assemblages across Indus sites as per the research. Further, remains of wild animals like deer, antelope, gazelle, hares, birds, and riverine/marine resources are also found in small proportions at these sites.

For the study, as many as 172 pottery fragments which were recovered from the sites were analysed. These fragments were recovered from 7 rural and urban settlements located in northwest India. Various fats and oils which were absorbed into the ancient ceramic vessels during their use were extracted and identified.

The scientists believe the findings highlight the resilience of rural settlements in northwest India during the transformation of the Indus Civilisation, and during a period of increasing aridity. In conclusion, despite the limitations, this study constitutes an important starting point which could broaden our thinking about Indus Valley Civilisation.

“The results demonstrate that the use of organic residue analysis in South Asia, combined with other bioarchaeological approaches, will facilitate a new understanding into the enormous diversity of prehistoric South Asian foodways and the relationship between pottery and foodstuff over time,” the study concludes.

You could read the study in detail here.

Despite govt fact-checking NDTV’s claims, Twitter continues to spread misinformation regarding coronavirus vaccine

OpIndia Staff
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Despite govt fact-checking NDTV’s claims, Twitter continues to spread misinformation regarding coronavirus vaccine

NDTV had yesterday reported that the union government has ‘rejected’ the proposal by Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech for the emergency approval to their respective vaccines ‘for the lack of data’. However, it was fake news. The Union Health Ministry had categorically dismissed the claims made by NDTV.

News I8 had also carried the fake news. Both had cited unnamed “sources” for their fake news. However, even after more than 12 hours of the government categorically denying their claims and calling it fake news, Twitter continues to spread the misinformation that was started by NDTV and News 18.

MoH debunking NDTV’s fake news

On Twitter’s home page, the right hand ‘explore’ panel that displays current trending topics and hashtags for the day, shares an update about the vaccines of SII and Bharat Biotech, except the update is fake, it is based on false claims that have already been debunked. The ‘news headline’ announces “Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India’s vaccine not considered for emergency approval due to the lack of data, News 18 and NDTV report.” The news update was displayed under the COVID-19 category.

Twitter’s news update displaying already debunked fake news

For an uninformed reader, who has not read the government’s ‘fact-check’, the ‘news’ of the proposals being rejected carry an element of shock, with all the coverage regarding vaccinations starting in the UK and the world’s desperate wait for a vaccine for the Wuhan virus. However, by propagating a fake-news that has been already debunked by the government, it is not clear what exactly Twitter India is trying to achieve here. Do they want to mislead Indian citizens?

Screenshot from Twitter

Upon clicking the dubious ‘news update’, one sees the same fake, misleading headline highlighted in bold letters, further spreading the false claims that SII and Bharat Biotech’s proposals have been ‘rejected’ by the government for the lack of data.

It is not that Twitter has not got the news that the fake news have been debunked. They are aware of it. They have, however, chosen not to highlight the actual news and perpetuate the false claims instead. So, the fact that the government has dismissed the claims made by NDTV and News 18, finds a place in the bottom, below the headline.

Further, Twitter again emphasises on the fake claim, by adding that ‘journalists’ have claimed that the request for emergency use was not considered due to lack of data. As evident here, Twitter considers the fake claims to be the actual ‘news’ and helps spread it as a news update. But the truth about the incident, that the government had asserted that the claims were baseless and the requests by the companies have not been rejected, is hidden below the headline.

The misleading ‘update’ was displayed on Twitter even till 9.30 am in the morning of December 10. More than 15 hours after the government’s fact-check.

Why is Twitter India trying to mislead Indian citizens about the Made In India vaccines?

Nagpur man arrested for cheating CJI Sharad Bobde’s mother of Rs 2.5 crores

OpIndia Staff
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Nagpur man arrested for cheating CJI Sharad Bobde’s mother of Rs 2.5 crores

The Nagpur Police on Wednesday arrested a man in the Sitabuldi area in the city for allegedly duping Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde’s mother to the tune of Rs 2.5 crore.

According to the reports, the accused, identified as 49-year-old Tapas Ghosh was employed by Mukta Bobde as her manager to look after her company that owns a party venue in the Civil Lines area in the city. The accused has been arrested by Nagpur police on Tuesday.

“Tapas Ghosh had been working as the manager of the victim’s Seasons Lawns for the last 13 years. The accused used to look after the bookings and financial matters of the lawn,” said DCP Vinita Sahu.

In the complaint, it has been alleged that the accused did not deposit the money received from bookings of the lawn, had forged bills and cheated the owners, the Nagpur DCP said. A case under Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (Cheating and dishonestly), 467 (forgery of valuable security), and other relevant section has been booked against him. 

Accused used forged receipts to cheat Bobde’s mother

Mukta Bobde, CJI Bobde’s mother, is the owner of Seasons Lawn located near Akashwani Square in Nagpur which is rented out for marriages and other events. According to the officials, the Bobde family had appointed Ghosh as the caretaker of the property in 2007 and he was being paid for taking care of the property and bookings.

However, taking advantage of Mukta Bobde’s advanced age and frail health, Ghosh and his wife allegedly kept her in the dark about transactions and failed to deposit the entire rent which they collected and used forged receipts to cheat the owners.

The cheating by husband-wife duo came to light when several customers began to ask for a refund of the booking amount from them after their events were cancelled due to the coronavirus lockdown.

After Mukta Bobde lodged a complaint of cheating, the SIT looked into the case and revealed that Ghosh had duped the Bobde family of around Rs 2.5 crore, the CP said.

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