Cherry-picked photos, misleading narratives: How Postcard News, India Today got it wrong
“See the difference…” said a post by Facebook page Postcard English which juxtaposed two photographs- one showed former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and the other showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The photographs were placed together and compared the attitude of the two Prime Ministers vis-a-vis athletes who were successful at the Commonwealth Games. Dr. Manmohan Singh can be seen sitting while posing for a photo with the athletes, whereas PM Modi can be seen standing and interacting with them while they are seated.
The post was uploaded on July 27, 2018 and has been shared over 4200 times till now. The implication of the post is clear- there is a sea of difference in the attitude and behaviour of the two Prime Ministers. While the former PM is seated, PM Modi engages with sportspersons.
Is there a difference?
Indeed there is, but not in the manner that Postcard News has claimed. The two photographs which have been juxtaposed represent athletes who were successful at two different events and not the Commonwealth Games as claimed by the post by Postcard News.
The athletes present in the picture taken with Dr. Singh are the medal winners of the 2012 Olympic games held in London. This photograph along with others can be accessed here in this article by Firstpost dated August 17, 2012.
(Medal winners of 2012 Olympics with Dr. Manmohan Singh)
As for the photograph of PM Modi seen interacting with athletes, it was clicked in April 2018 when the Prime Minister met athletes who were victorious at the Commonwealth Games held in Australia.
It is a boon for our country to have a Prime Minister in @narendramodi ji who believes in the power of sports to transform our nation.
— Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) April 30, 2018
I thank him again for showing belief and appreciation for our #CWG2018 stars. His words are a great motivation for every athlete. #KheloIndia pic.twitter.com/YvgD4Zh6tR
So, is there a difference in the way the two Prime Ministers and by extension, the two regimes in the manner in which athletes have been treated? The photographs comparing the two as posted by Postcard News are misleading. This is because PM Modi is seen seated in the presence of athletes on other occasions. For instance, when he met the medal winners of the Asian Games of 2014.
With our medal winning athletes. pic.twitter.com/RntpmE1v5f
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 14, 2014
On another occasion, PM Modi can be seen seated in the presence of athletes bound for the 2016 Olympics at Rio de Janeiro.
PM Modi with Olympics-bound athletes, 2016. (Image : Indian Express)
Meanwhile, there are photographs of Dr. Singh as well, seen interacting with athletes, like the photograph below taken in 2012. Cherry-picking images to drive home a certain narrative is misleading at the very least.
India Today goofs up
India Today attempted to ‘fact check’ this claim by Postcard News, but the move backfired when the news outlet ‘busted’ a claim that was absent in the first place. India Today in its article claimed that Postcard News had faked data ‘to show more sports medals during NDA rule than UPA’.
However, there was no data present in the post by Postcard News and the conjecture was arrived at on the basis of the juxtaposed photographs referred to in this article. India Today‘s goof-up did not go unnoticed and Postcard News hit back at the media organisation for what it claimed was a misrepresentation of the post and its intent.
Postcard News has been notorious for spreading misinformation in the garb of news and can neither absolve itself of its bigoted role or claim vindication on the basis of an incorrect fact-check. Two images were put together to create a false impression in favour of PM Modi. Political propaganda expectedly works on the basis of optics and for supporters of political parties on social media, such tactics have become par for the course.
courtesy : altnews.in
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Feels good when you get most decisions right: KL Rahul
Lucknow (PTI): Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul was chuffed to get most of his decisions right as he guided his team to a convincing eight-wicket win over defending champions Chennai Super Kings in an IPL game here on Friday.
Rahul had a good day in office as he was spot-on with his bowling changes and also took two catches and affected a stumping before returning to smash a match-winning 53-ball 82 to boot with.
"Feels good at the end of the day, When you win, looks like you make all the decisions right," said Rahul, who was adjudged the Player of the Match, during the post-match presentation.
"Impossible to get all right. Depends on the kind of wicket we are playing on and the kind of batters there are. We spend time doing homework on tactics and strategy and we spoke about them not settling against one style of bowling."
LSG had kept things under control before Moeen Ali (30 off 20) and MS Dhoni (28 off 9) went on a six-hitting spree to take CSK to a fighting 176 for six.
"Halfway stage, I would have been happy with 160. Felt the wicket was slow, a bit of grip but not too much. 160-165 would have been ideal.
"But MSD walks in and the bowlers feel intimidated. He walks in and bowlers were under pressure, the crowd was really loud, he has done it in the past."
Chasing 177, Rahul (82) and De Kock (54) batted with authority during their match-winning alliance of 134, the highest partnership for any wicket at the Ekana Stadium, as LSG scored 180 for 2 in 19 overs.
"Felt that if we bat well, we could chase it down. I have been trying to assess the situation and today it came off. With Chennai's spinners, they tried to put brakes on us," he said.
"We tried to get to a good start. Tried to take them down, luckily it came off. When your partnership goes on, you can take a few more chances. Glad that it happened."
Ruturaj Gaikwad, the CSK captain, said his team was 10-15 runs short with dew coming in.
"We finished off very well, couldn't have asked for more. But after powerplay, we couldn't kick on till 14-15th over. We lost wickets regularly and were 10-15 short.
"Slightly difficult to bat but with Impact Player rule you need an extra batter. With dew coming on later, felt 180-190 could have been good."
CSK bowlers couldn't produce a breakthrough as Rahul and De Kock batted well in the powerplay and Gaikwad agreed they needed to bowl better in the first six overs.
"[Bowling in the powerplay] is one area we would like to improve, puts opposition on the back foot if we can get wickets in the powerplay. Good to play them again soon, will come back with homework done," he said.
The two teams will again face off on April 23 at Chepauk.
