No, an Indian TV channel did not report that Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi is a Muslim
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on January 7, 2019 at 11:30
- 1 min read
- By AFP India
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The posts, including this one published on December 7, 2018, claim the ABP news channel published “Breaking News” that Gandhi said he is a Muslim. Here is a screenshot of the false post:
The false post in Hindi translates as: “My ancestors were Muslims, I am a Muslim too - Rahul Gandhi.”
A similar post was shared here on Facebook on November 11, 2018.
ABP, one of the biggest TV networks in India, issued a statement from its official Twitter account saying that the Breaking News contained in the misleading Facebook posts was false.
#Urgent: This is to notify that the attached media which is being circulated online has been doctored with our channel's template. The information about Sh. Rahul Gandhi's statements, which these images carry have not been reported by ABP & have no relation with ABP News Network. pic.twitter.com/qYU2sJXqsl
— ABP News (@abpnewstv) November 12, 2018
A search on the ABP news website with the keyword ‘Rahul Gandhi Muslim’ yields no results.
If Gandhi had made a public comment declaring he was a Muslim, it would have dominated national news in Hindu-majority India. But mainstream media have not reported any such comment.
Indian media have repeatedly reported that Gandhi is a Hindu, for example here, here and here.
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