Qatar-based media outlet Al Jazeera English has come under fire after falsely attributing a statement to Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi, prompting an official rebuttal from the Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check. The government has termed the claim “fake”, accusing the international broadcaster of misquoting the minister and spreading misinformation.
The controversy stems from a social media post by Al Jazeera English claiming that Pralhad Joshi had remarked that “despite best efforts, paper leaks can’t be prevented.” The post further attempted to link the alleged statement with its report claiming that Joshi had replaced Dharmendra Pradhan as Education Minister following protests over examination scandals.
A social media post by @AJEnglish claims that Union Education Minister @JoshiPralhad stated that 'despite best efforts, paper leaks cannot be prevented'#PIBFactCheck
❌ This claim is #fake. Al Jazeera has misquoted the Union Education Minister.
✅ The Union Education… pic.twitter.com/SlOa7mM7Go
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) July 26, 2026
However, the PIB Fact Check unit categorically rejected the claim, stating that the Union Education Minister never made such a statement.
According to the official clarification, Joshi was quoting Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, who had made those remarks while referring to repeated examination paper leaks during the Congress government’s tenure in Rajasthan. The statement was presented by Al Jazeera as Joshi’s own, fundamentally altering its context.
Calling the report misleading, PIB Fact Check stated:
“This claim is fake. Al Jazeera has misquoted the Union Education Minister. The Union Education Minister never made such a statement. He was quoting Priyanka Gandhi, who had originally made these remarks regarding paper leaks in Rajasthan.”
The government has urged citizens to rely only on official government sources for verified information and appealed to the public to report misleading or suspicious content concerning the Central Government to the PIB Fact Check unit.
