Since last week, Muslim girls protesting for the right to wear hijab in classrooms in Karnataka, and the ensuing counter-protests organised by Hindutva groups has gripped the news cycle.
It has also inspired an enormous amount of false and misleading claims on the issue in a short amount of time. In just one week, BOOM has done 9 unique fact-checks on such claims linked to the hijab row.
While most of them were aimed at the pro-hijab protestors, there were also a few attacking the saffron-clad protestors.
Here are all the fact-checks we did on the topic:
1. No, Indian Flag Not 'Replaced' By Saffron Flag In Karnataka's Shivamogga
On February 8 at Karnataka's Shivamogga, protests by Muslim girls for the right to wear hijab was met with fierce counter-protests by students wearing saffron scarves and turbans, resulting in violence and stone-pelting.
A video was circulated that day, showing a group of boys hoist a saffron flag at government college at Shivamogga.
The footage soon went viral with Congress leader DK Shivakumar tweeting about the incident claiming that the national flag was replaced by a saffron flag at an educational institution in Shivamogga.
This claim was further spread by several reporters, and by news channel India Today.
Our investigation showed that there was no national flag at the government college that day. We also contacted the principal of the college, who confirmed to us that the tricolour was not replaced, when the saffron flag was hoisted.
Click here to read the fact-check.
2. Hijab Row: Video Of Boys Returning Saffron Turbans Peddled With False Claim
A day after the protests, a video was circulated where a group of boys are seen returning saffron turbans and scarves at an area. It was shared with the claim that Muslim boys in Shivamogga disguised themselves as Hindu students and pelted stones.
However, the original footage was captured by BOOM's Nivedita Niranjankumar, News Editor (South) who was reporting from the ground covering the protests on February 8, 2022. BOOM had reported on the incident at the protest in MGM college where students were returning their orange turbans that were allegedly distributed by the Hindu Jagrana Vedike.
Click here to read the fact-check.
3. Hijab Row: Old Video From Bangladesh Peddled With Misleading Claim
As situation in Karnataka's college remained tense, a video started circulating showing a man pretending to be a pregnant woman wearing a burqa.
We found the original context behind the video - it showed a man caught by the cops for smuggling alcohol in a burqa in Bangladesh.
Click here to read the fact-check.
4. Karnataka Hijab Row: Photos Of JDS Member Peddled With Misleading Claims
Then came the posts about Janata Dal (Secular) member Najma Nazeer Chikkanerale. Chikkanerale's old photos - some showing her in hijab, and some without, were shared on social media out of context, with the claim that it showed a college student in Karnataka wearing hijab to college, but taking it off for other public activities.
We also found another photo of Chikkanerale's face morphed into the image of a Mumbai-based social media influencer.
BOOM spoke to Chikkanerale, who confirmed to us that she was not a college student, and that her photos were taken out of context.
Click here to read the fact-check.
5. Karnataka Hijab Row: No, This Is Not A Photo Of Student Muskan Khan
During the wave of protests and counter-protests, a video went viral showing a burqa-clad woman named Muskan Khan stand up against a group of boys wearing saffron scarves and shouting "Jai Shree Ram".
Soon after, a photo collage went viral, with the first photo showing a girl wearing jeans, and the second photo of Khan wearing a burqa. The claim with these photos was that they're both the same girl.
We found this claim to be false, the first photo of the girl wearing jeans is actually of Najma Nazeer Chikkanerale, whose photos had gone viral earlier with false claims.
Click here to read the fact-check.
6. Another Image Of JDS' Najma Nazeer Viral As Burqa-Clad Protestor Muskan
An image showing a group of anti-establishment political activists and politicians, is viral with the claim that one of the people in the photo is Muskan Khan who was recently heckled by saffron clad for wearing a burqa. The image with the caption is being shared to insinuate that Khan wearing burqa is part of a conspiracy against the government.
BOOM found this claim to be false; we ascertained that the woman being referenced in the image is yet again of JD(S) member Najma Nazeer Chikkanarale.
Click here to read the fact-check.
7. Video From Sri Lanka Peddled As Muslim Women Harassed In India
In the backdrop of the ongoing Hijab row, an old video showing a group of young men throwing buckets of water on a group of Muslim women wearing burqas, is being circulated on social media platforms with the claim that it shows an incident that happened in India.
BOOM found that the claim is false. The video actually shows an old incident that happened in a Sri Lankan university and has no connection with India.
Click here to read our fact-check.
8. No, This Is Not A Photo Of Rahul Gandhi With Muskan Khan From Karnataka
A photo of a woman wearing a Congress party shawl posing with Rahul Gandhi is being shared on social media as Muskan Khan - the burqa wearing Muslim student who stood up against a group of boys wearing saffron scarves and chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' in Karnataka recently.
However, BOOM found that the woman in the viral photo standing with Gandhi is Amba Prasad, Congress MLA from Barkagaon in Jharkhand.
Click here to read our fact-check.
9. Hijab Row: Old Video From Karnataka Shared As Police Action In West Bengal
On February 12, 2022, violence erupted in Suti, Murshidabad district in West Bengal after allegedly school headmaster asked students to wear uniform instead of the hijab. Next day, locals locked up teachers inside the schools. Police arrested 18 villagers linked to the incident while the headmaster was suspended. Police had to lathi charge and fire tear-gas shells to disperse the mob to bring the situation under control.
Soon after, a video went viral, showing police forcibly removing students protesting, with some wearing burqas and hijabs, is being shared with a false claim that it shows a police crackdown on hijab-wearing students in Murshidabad.
However, the viral video is not from Murshidabad - BOOM found that the video is actually from a protest against the implementation of the New Education Policy (NEP) in Bengaluru, Karnataka, last year.
Click here to read our fact-check.
