Doctored Video Peddled To Claim Akhilesh Yadav To Go To London On Mar 11

A heavily doctored video made using an old NDTV interview of Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav is being shared on social media with false captions claiming that the SP chief will leave for London on March 11 i.e. a day after the results of UP Assembly elections are declared next month.

BOOM found that the viral video has been doctored from a year-old interview of Yadav and the claims being made with the viral post are unrelated. The clip has even a fake audio falsely attributed to journalist Sreenivasan Jain.

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Polling for UP Assembly elections began on February 10 and the elections are being conducted in seven phases and the counting will take place on March 10. The video is viral in this backdrop.

The viral clip shows NDTV Group Editor Sreenivasan Jain in conversation with the SP chief.

Jain can be heard asking Yadav in Hindi. Read the conversation below.

Sreenivasan Jain: It's being said that you are leaving for London on 11th.

Akhilesh Yadav: Now if I say who is going to London, who is not going on a foreign trip... I would like to know from you can I not go? If you don't have children or if your children are not going then what can I do?

(श्रीनिवासन जैन: ये भी कहा जा रहा है कि आप ग्यारह तारीख को लंदन जा रहे हैं.

अखिलेश यादव: अब मैं ये कहूं कि कौन लंदन गया, कौन विदेश नहीं जा रहा मैं तो मैं आपसे जानना चाहता हूँ कि क्या मैं नहीं जा सकता अगर आपके पास बच्चे नहीं है और आपके बच्चे नहीं जा रहे हैं तो उसके लिए मैं क्या कर सकता हूँ)

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Fact Check

BOOM did a search on YouTube with keywords 'Sreenivasan Jain NDTV interviews Akhilesh Yadav' and found the same video uploaded on the verified YouTube channel of NDTV on June 23, 2021.

The title of the video reads 'UP Election 2022: UP विधानसभा चुनाव हारेगी BJP, जनता बदलाव चाहती है: Akhilesh Yadav'.

The 26-minute-long interview shows Yadav discussing the strategy of SP in the upcoming election, COVID situation in UP and farmers' protest.

At the timestamp of 10.52, Jain says in Hindi, "It has been said that in between you left for London."

Interestingly, this portion of where the NDTV journalist is asking his question has been edited in the viral video.

In the now viral (doctored) video, one can hear the journalist saying, "It's being said that you are leaving for London on 11th." This line has been dubbed and added to the video.

In the original video, Jain does not mention any date.

Akhilesh Yadav's reply to the journalist has also been spliced in the viral video and the jump cuts are clearly visible.

In the original video, Yadav says, "Now if I say who is going to London, who is not going on a foreign trip... I would say, you are asking me this question, you tell me when did I go to London.

However, Yadav's reply has been edited in the viral video and he can be heard saying, "Now if I say who is going to London, who is not going on a foreign trip... I would like to know from you... can I not go. If you don't have kids or if your children are not going then what can I do?"

The portion where Yadav says 'If you don't have children or if your children are not going then what can I do' comes at timestamp of 11.19 in the original interview.

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BOOM also found a tweet from Sreenivasan Jain's verified handle debunking the viral video. 'Just got this on WA. My audio has been morphed, Akhilesh's answer has been distorted. While one is always up for a laugh, it appears this clip has been used to spread misinfo during the elections, and hence am flagging here,' Jain tweeted.

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