After the Uttar Pradesh Police lodged an FIR against Twitter, propagandists, Congress leaders, and propaganda portals for spreading fake news, some issued clarifications and rejoinders, and some deleted tweets and cartoons.
News portal The Quint deleted a cartoon with the explanation “The Quint has withdrawn its Kaafi Real cartoon on the recent incident in Loni, where a 72-year-old Muslim man was attacked on 5 June, after the police have contested that he was forced to chant. We will continue to bring you the developments on the case. Thanks.”
Propaganda website Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair deleted the tweets in which he has posted the videos. He, too, issued a clarification, “I've deleted the videos that I had posted. The victim's version of him being forced to chant "Jai Shri Ram" at this point in time does not seem to add up based on my conversations with police authorities and other journalists reporting on this issue.”
Saba Naqvi, who has a history of spreading fake news, wrote on Twitter, “It seems the Ghaziabad police is investigating the case of the elderly Muslim man and has put forward a different version. My comment on Twitter was based on a newspaper report. I will wait for the investigation to be completed before further comment.”
The FIR mentions how they did not delete their tweets even after the truth had come out.
Propagandist Rana Ayyub tweeted, “½ The tweets I had shared earlier about the attack on Abdul were based on a video and various news reports, published by print and electronic media including the Indian Express that were in wide circulation already. In view of the cops investigating the matter claiming…2/2 a different narrative, I shall wait for the truth to prevail at the earliest. My endeavor remains as always to share the news that highlights the truth and thereby promotes peace and harmony in our society. I hope the victim gets justice.”
