A fake screenshot of an article published on The Wire has surfaced online. The article purports to quote election commissioner of India (ECI) Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu as saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him to add 'a million fake voters across constituencies in Bihar.'
We found multiple visual discrepancies in the viral screenshot indicating it to be fabricated. Additionally, The Wire's editor Seema Chishti confirmed to BOOM that the media outlet did not publish any such article.
The Claim
The headline of the article in the viral screenshot reads, "Prime Minister Modi personally summoned me and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to his office and told us to add a million fake voters across various constituencies in Bihar."— Dr Sukhbir Singh Sidhu, Election Commissioner of India."
An X user posted the viral image with the caption, "PM Modi personally ordered me and CEC Gyanesh Kumar to add a million fake voters in Bihar," claims Election Commissioner Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sidhu Shame On Modi."
Click here to see post and here for the archive.
What We Found: Viral Article Is Fake
1. 'Sukhbir Singh Sidhu' Is Not The Election Commissioner of India: The screenshot erroneously mentions the name of Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu the Election Commissioner of India as 'Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sidhu', There are further discrepancies in the screenshot. We ran keyword searches but could not find any such article published by The Wire.
We also observed the headline in the viral image is unusually long and the font used is not as the same font used on their website. A comparison between the two can be seen below.
2. Statement by The Wire: For further confirmation, BOOM reached out to Siddharth Varadarajan, founding editor of The Wire who told us the screengrab is fake. Seema Chishti, editor, The Wire also called out the article as fake. Chishti stated, "The screenshot is a fabrication. The Wire has published no such story."
