New Delhi: With news websites, television channels and newspapers giving wide coverage to ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s death, the big development has taken the social media also by storm. Not everything related to Baghdadi’s death that is being shared on Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and other platforms is, however, authentic.
A poster has been doing the rounds of social media inviting viewers to watch a regular News18 show with Hindi anchor Amish Devgan. The poster shows Devgan, in its regular style, on the left hand side, and features Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Donald Trump, as well as Baghdadi. The accompanying text in Hindi reads: “Modi ke dabav ke chalte Trump ne kiya Baghdadi ko dher (Trump killed Baghdadi under Modi’s pressure).”
The poster, which invites viewers to watch the regular 6:57 pm show, has been shared on Twitter by nearly 1,500 people. It is also doing the rounds on WhatsApp. Several shares trolling Amish can be seen too.
https://twitter.com/ziddi_zoya_/status/1188853005203968000?s=19
Photoshopped picture
When looked closely, however, the poster reveals several discrepancies. For one, the font used in the poster is not the regular one used by the show to promote the channel. The photoshopped image uses a thin white font, while the channel usually goes with a thick, yellow one.
In the original version of the poster (see featured image), Devgan is seen with Modi, Trump and Imran Khan, with the caption “The pairing of Modi and Trump forced Imran to surrender Kashmir” for a show that aired on 25 September.
In the photoshopped version, Khan’s face has been superimposed with a picture of Baghdadi. An even closer look reveals that the background of the text uses a flat colour, while the original poster uses many shades.
None of the posts shared by official News18 social media handles or Devgan carries any poster with al-Baghdadi on it.
Al-Baghdadi was killed on 26 October, in a raid conducted by American special operations forces through Turkish and Russian air spaces.
Also read: US disposed of IS leader Baghdadi’s remains, Pentagon says but doesn’t give details
With SM HoaXslayer