A doctored image of a clipping of the Times Of India newspaper has been shared on social media with a false claim that the 5G spectrum auctions caused a record loss of Rs 2.8 lakh crore.
BOOM found that the photo is digitally manipulated. The original article published on the Times Business section of the newspaper, reported that the 5G spectrum auctions generated a record Rs 1.5 lakh crore for the government.
According to reports, the auction for the 5G telecom spectrum concluded on August 1, 2022 receiving bids upwards of Rs 1.5 lakh crore after seven days of bidding. Mukesh Ambani's telecom arm Reliance Jio emerged as the largest bidder spending Rs 88,078 crore and acquired 24,740 MHz of the spectrum put on auction. The government will allocate the spectrum by August 12, said Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
The headline in the morphed image reads , "₹2800000000000000 5G Spectrum auctions suffer - a record loss of ₹2.8lakh Cr".
Click here to view the post.
Click here to view the post.
We also received the image on our WhatsApp tipline number (+91 7700906588) for verification.
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Fact Check
BOOM observed the viral image closely and found that it is a screenshot of The Times Of India's Chennai edition published on August 2, 2022.
The first paragraph of the story says, "The 5G spectrum auctions came to a close on Monday after seven days. It fetched a record Rs 1. 5 lakh crore for the exchequer as the government now prepares to launch the high-speed telecom services from October this year across metros and top cities."
The morphed photo of the viral newspaper clipping can be seen below.
Taking a cue, we found Times Of India's epaper website and found the original Times Business epaper edition published on its Chennai edition on August 2, 2022.
The original headline reads, "5G spectrum auctions earn Centre record ₹1.5 lakh cr". Additionally, we found other elements and the figures reported in the original page is also same when compared to the viral newspaper clip.
The comparison between the viral newspaper clip and the original edition of Times Business can be seen below.
Additionally, we found a tweet by TOI's national editor Pankaj Doval who tweeted about the 5G spectrum auctions and used an image of the same article published on the Delhi edition of the newspaper on August 2, 2022.
Click here to view the tweet.
The clipping stated that the central government earned Rs 1.5 lakh crore from the 5G spectrum auctions contrary to the claim mentioned in the viral newspaper clipping.
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