Alt News’ Mohd Zubair got fact checked by Uttarakhand Police; Caught spreading lies about ‘Quran burning’ video

Alt News’ co-founder and self-proclaimed fact-checker Mohammad Zubair has once again been fact-checked by law enforcement. Zubair, who has previously been caught spreading fake news, has now been fact checked by the Uttarakhand Police.

Recently, Zubair shared a provocative news story about the burning of the Quran. In his post on X (formerly Twitter), he claimed, “A video is going viral on social media in which a YouTuber from Roorkee is shown burning and destroying the Quran. Roorkee police should look into this matter quickly.” However, he shared this post without including the video and without verifying the authenticity of the information.

Despite being known for fact-checking, Zubair did not fact-check this particular matter. Instead, he shared the news in a way that could mislead people into believing it was true. He did not mention that the video was old or clarify that there is no clear information available about the person who made the video.

Haridwar police quickly debunked Zubair’s claims. They issued a statement revealing the truth about the video: “In the referenced case, ex-Muslim Sameer has not been living at the location named ‘Padli Gurjar’ for almost three years, and no incident of desecration of the holy Quran has occurred anywhere in Haridwar district. Therefore, do not share the case without information; otherwise, legal action may be taken against you.”

Following the police’s clarification, people began to question Zubair and demand action against him. One user commented, “The police are denying any such incident. Why didn’t you check the facts, and why did you post this without obtaining clarification from the police? Why didn’t you contact Uttarakhand police for clarification as you do for every other incident? Uttarakhand police, please take note of this post. This person named Zubair is trying to incite communal violence by spreading false information.”

The risk of communal tension spreading due to such news is significant. Previously, when Mohammad Zubair shared a clipped video of BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, she received threats of being killed and “beheading.” This led to extremist violence in the country, culminating in the murder of tailor Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur. As a result of these incidents, there has been an increasing demand for action against Zubair.

Readers should be aware that this is not the first time Mohammad Zubair has been caught spreading fake news. Organiser compiled a list of 60 instances where Alt News and its founders, Mohammad Zubair and Pratik Sinha, have been found disseminating false information.