A set of images showing an artist’s creation of Rs 1000 currency notes is viral with a claim that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released new currency. The two images show the front and back designs of the currency note with a message that reads, “New Rs. 1000 note released today by RBI.” BOOM scrutinised the notes and found that they were fake and not released by the RBI. On the top right corner of the image, one can see ‘Artistic Imagination’ written, indicating that it is not the official currency. Read more about it here.
A parody Twitter account changed it’s account name to Indian-American economist Abhijit Banerjee, soon after the latter was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics for 2019 along with two others. CNBC-TV18 fell for the fake Twitter account and tagged it in a tweet which they later deleted. BOOM found that the handle was previously called 'Not That Swaraj'. Read more about this Twitter handle here.
Videos of a woman dancing to the beats of dhaak as a part of the dhunuchi naach are viral on social media with claims that they show the Trinamul Congress MP Nusrat Jahan's performance. BOOM found that none of the videos actually show Nusrat Jahan's performance. One of the videos is from Powai Bengali Welfare Association Times Durga Puja, 2019 in Mumbai and the other video shows the performance of a Bengali actress Ritabhari Chakraborty. Read more about it here.
Two photoshopped images claiming to show paper lanterns floating above the Golden Temple in Amritsar is viral at the onset of Diwali being celebrated in many parts of the country. BOOM found that the images were created by a visual artist Navkaran Brar. Paper lanterns have been edited onto already existing images of the Golden Temple. The image showing the paper lanterns is from a festival in Thailand called the Loy Krathong festival. Read more about the images here.
A Facebook post claiming a man created a ruckus on the streets in Mathura and set his car ablaze to protest a traffic rule violation fine of Rs 35,000 levied on him is viral on social media. BOOM found that the claim is false. The incident took place in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura district. Local police identified the man in the video as one Shubham Chaudhary and said the whole thing was done for media attention. Read the detailed story here.