Congress is world’s second most corrupt political party, but only in fake news
New Delhi: A ‘news listicle’ about the top 10 most corrupt political parties in the world is being widely shared on Twitter claiming that the Congress is second on the list.
On Monday, the list was tweeted by T.V. Mohandas Pai, chairman of Aarin Capital and a trustee of Akshay Patra Foundation. Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri also tweeted the link, but deleted it later.
The link Pai and Agnihotri shared bore BBC’s name that made it look authentic. However, bbcnewshub.com, the website which hosted the listicle, has no connection with the BBC. Also, there are serious doubts over its credibility.
The same website had earlier created a listicle of the 10 ‘most corrupt politicians’ in the world for 2018 in which it included Prime Minister Narendra Modi at seventh position.
In March 2017, the same website had produced a listicle declaring Congress as the fourth most corrupt political party in the world, only to replace it with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) later in August.
Last year, SM Hoaxslayer reported that the website didn’t provide any methodology, data or criteria for its list, and is most likely fake.
Geeta Pandey, BBC Online’s Editor, India and Women affairs, even debunked the fake news website last year and said the premier news organisation never conducts such surveys.
This is so fake @BBCNews @bbcindia @bbcnewsasia never does such surveys https://t.co/fNmzTpWPb9 via @postcard_news
— GeetaPandeyBBC (@geetapandeyBBC) March 20, 2017
On Monday, some Twitter users pointed out to Pai that the news website was fake. Television anchor and political analyst Sumanth Raman said the website that created the listicle is not authentic. To this, Pai responded, “Good you have clarified this! We do not want any Indian entity to be on any such list.”
However, Pai didn’t delete his tweet.
courtesy : theprint.in
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Vartha Bharati launches Kalyana Karnataka edition, releases 23rd annual special issue in Kalaburagi
Kalaburagi: The Kalyana Karnataka edition of the Kannada daily Vartha Bharati was formally launched on Saturday at a programme held at Dr S M Pandit Rangamandir in Kalaburagi. The event also marked the release of the newspaper’s twenty-third annual special issue, a compilation of selected editorials, and the Kalyana Karnataka special supplement.
The programme was inaugurated by Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker U T Khader. The Kalyana Karnataka edition of Vartha Bharati was unveiled by Siddharth Varadarajan, Editor-in-Chief of The Wire.
The twenty-third annual special issue was released by multilingual actor Prakash Raj. The book compiling selected editorials of Vartha Bharati was released by B R Patil, Vice-Chairperson of the State Policy and Planning Commission and MLA from Aland. The Kalyana Karnataka special supplement was released by Rahim Khan, Minister for Municipal Administration and Haj.
ALSO READ: Kalaburagi: ‘Vartha Bharati’ Kalyana Karnataka edition launched
Chairperson of the State Waqf Board and Sajjada Nashin of the Khwaja Bande Nawaz Dargah, Hazrat Syed Mohammed Ali Al Husseini, and Kalaburagi South MLA Allamaprabhu Patil were present as chief guests.
Among the special invitees on the dais were Koraneshwara Mahaswamiji of the Tontadarya Anubhava Mantapa, Aland; Bishop Rev Fr Robert Miranda of Kalaburagi; Bhante Varajyothi of Anandur; social activist K Neela; farmers’ leader Chamarasa Mali Patil; DSS state convenor D G Sagar; and activist and singer Ambanna Arolikar.
Speaking on the occasion, Assembly Speaker U T Khader said Vartha Bharati had emerged as the voice of the weak and the voiceless in society and had earned the love, trust and confidence of people across the state. He said the newspaper had carved out a distinct identity in the media landscape and expressed happiness that it was now reaching the Kalyana Karnataka region. He added that Vartha Bharati had remained free from political pressures and inducements and expressed hope that it would continue to stand as a support system for the distressed.
B R Patil said running a newspaper in the present times was not easy, as the media sector had increasingly turned into an industry driven by profit. Amidst such challenges, he said, Vartha Bharati had maintained integrity, honesty and commitment throughout its twenty-three-year journey. He expressed confidence that the newspaper would continue on the same path. Referring to Kalaburagi, he noted that the region frequently witnessed agitations due to the large number of unresolved issues, and said Vartha Bharati should continue to bring the problems and suffering of the people to the attention of the government and contribute to finding solutions.
