A viral screenshot claiming illustrator-writer Priyanka Paul has filed a police complaint against Coca Cola for making bottles shaped like a penis is fake and was created as satire. BOOM found that the post was created by an account on Instagram, Realinshots, which has in the past too created fake content which went viral as true.
The post which used the 22-year-old writer and activist's photo claims, "Feminist girl from Delhi files a complaint against the Coca Cola company for using offensive bottles shaped like a penis".
The fake post, in a bid to give it a look of veracity, has been designed to look like a screenshot of an article published on news curation app InShorts. The post even adds a fictitious quote by Paul, claiming she said she finds the shape of the bottle offensive as it 'indirectly supports the patriarchal society.'
The post has gone viral on Facebook with many mocking Paul for filing the FIR.
FACT CHECK
We first checked Priyanka Paul's Instagram account and found that she had posted on her stories and in the posts that the post was fake and she has not filed any such complaint against Coca Cola.
Speaking to BOOM, Paul said, "That post is very obviously fake. I first noticed it on the said page - @RealinShots when some friends sent it to me. What news report starts with 'feminist girl'." She added that the page never sought her permission before using her name and photo. "The page never reached out to me and has not taken my permission to use my name and image. They have not even deleted the post yet."
We then checked the Instagram account RealInShots which describes itself as a Satire/Parody page and in the bio mentions, "India's most trusted fictitious source of news." The page posted the fake news claiming Paul has filed a complaint against Coca-Cola on August 25, 2021 with the caption, "Coca Cola to discontinue producing penis shaped bottles because of the complaint filed against the company. 'Instead of praising me for raising my voice against the patriarchal oppression of our Indian society, people are trolling me for being so sensitive. Is this what you get for being a brave girl in a country like India? So disappointing' she said."
A look at the display photo of the page, shows that it says 'Real Inshots' with the alphabet 'R' missing in the word shorts and designed to look like the logo of the real news service.
BOOM has previously debunked another post by the same page when it made a fake claim that a Muslim fan of the Korean pop band BTS played their song 'Dynamite' instead of the azaan - the Islamic call to prayer and was arrested and fined for the same.
BOOM has reached out to Coca Cola for a comment and the story will be updated upon a response.