ANI UP Misquotes Noida Police; Adds Tablighi Jamaat To Tweet

The Twitter account of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Noida called out ANI News UP - a handle of Asian News International (ANI) and said that the wire agency had misquoted an official of the Gautam Budh Nagar police by linking the Tablighi Jamaat to those quarantined in Sector 5 Harola .

In a late night tweet on Monday, ANI UP had tweeted that those in Sector 5 Harola, Noida who came in contact with Tablighi Jamaat members were quarantined. The news outlet attributed the statement to Sankalp Sharma, DCP, GB Nagar. Click here to view an archive of the tweet.

However, the Twitter account @DCP_Noida quote tweeted ANI UP and clarified that there was no mention of Tablighi Jamaat in their statement. The tweet also called out ANI News UP for 'misquoting and spreading fake news'. Read the tweet below.

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ANI UP issued a correction but not before its erroneous reporting flew across social media in India.

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The Tablighi Jamaat is facing a backlash and is accused of being a carrier of the virus and spreading the infection to several states after several members of the Jamaat, who had attended a religious congregation in Nizamuddin, Delhi in March, tested positive for novel Coronavirus.

The religious congregation - markaz -had taken place despite restrictions on large gathering and movement of people that were already in place before a nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24.

The wire agency's misreporting comes at a time when Indian Muslims at the center of targeted misinformation linking them to Coronavirus and its spread.

BOOM has debunked several unrelated videos that were shared to falsely claim Muslims spitting into food to spread the virus.

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