Screenshot Of Fake Neeraj Chopra Tweet Targets PM Modi
BOOM found that the viral tweet was actually tweeted from a fake Twitter account created in the name of Neeraj Chopra.
A screenshot of a tweet targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi by a handle impersonating Olympics gold medalist Neeraj Chopra is viral on Facebook; the text tweeted by the handle @i_m_nirajchopra refuses to give credit to the prime minister for the track and field athlete's successful feat in the Olympics.
Chopra won a gold medal in men's javelin throw in Tokyo Olympic 2020, the country's first ever Olympic athletics gold medal.
The tweet in the viral screenshot reads, "This gold medal is the result of me and my coach's hard work of years. Do not try to give Modiji credit for it."
(Original text in Hindi: ये गोल्ड मेडल मेरी और मेरे कोच की वर्षों मेहनत का नतीजा है। मोदी जी को इसका क्रेडिट देने की कोशिश ना करें)
Several netizens have lauded Chopra based on the tweet and shared the screenshot on Facebook. Click here to see a Facebook post.
A netizen captioned the screenshot as, "Neeraj Chopra's courage has won hearts."
Click here to view the post.
Click here to view the post.
The same screenshot has been shared by the verified Facebook page of Delhi Pradesh Congress Sevadal with the caption, "Neeraj's courage has won our hearts."
Also Read: No, Rahul Gandhi Did Not Tweet This About Olympic Medalist Neeraj Chopra
Fact Check
BOOM ran a search on Twitter and found the same tweet, tweeted by the handle impersonating Neeraj Chopra on August 9, 2021. The tweet has since been deleted. Click here to view the archive of the tweet. At the time of writing this fact check, the tweet was retweeted more than 400 times. Click here to view the profile archive.
The handle @i_m_nirajchopra has existed on Twitter since June, 2021; and the bio reads - Olympic Gold Medalist in Hindi. Below is a screenshot of the fake handle.
While scanning the replies to deleted tweets, we found that the handle @i_m_nirajchopra changed its name to @Niraj_chopra1.
Further we found a reply on one of the tweets by @i_m_nirajchopra which mentioned that the account was earlier called @RuhbikaLiyaqat.
We then checked for the Twitter id of the account @i_m_nirajchopra on the online social media tool - Comment Picker. We were able to find that the Twitter id of the account is 1400368666881912834.
Further, on checking the source code of the handle @RuhbikaLiyaqat, we found that its Twitter id is also 1400368666881912834.
This shows that the account had earlier impersonated television journalist Rubika Liyaquat and we were able to confirm that @i_m_nirajchopra was earlier operating as @RuhbikaLiyaqat on Twitter.
Verified Twitter Account Of Neeraj Chopra
Neeraj Chopra's verified Twitter account is "@Neeraj_chopra1". His Twitter account has been active since June 2017. BOOM has reached out to Chopra's team for a comment. The article will be updated when we get a response.
(Additional Reporting : Sujith A)
Also Read: Times Now, NDTV India Fall For Fake Arshad Nadeem Twitter Account
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