{"id":29952,"date":"2024-05-23T23:37:28","date_gmt":"2024-05-24T03:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/old-video-falsely-shared-as-poll-rigging-by-supporters-of-indian-muslim-candidate\/23\/05\/2024\/"},"modified":"2024-05-23T23:37:28","modified_gmt":"2024-05-24T03:37:28","slug":"old-video-falsely-shared-as-poll-rigging-by-supporters-of-indian-muslim-candidate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/old-video-falsely-shared-as-poll-rigging-by-supporters-of-indian-muslim-candidate\/23\/05\/2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Old video falsely shared as ‘poll-rigging by supporters of Indian Muslim candidate’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Screenshot of the false post, taken on May 17, 2024<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Nearly a billion Indians are voting to elect a new government in six-week-long parliamentary polls that began on April 19, the largest democratic exercise in the world.<\/p>\n

AFP found no news reports about election rigging from Owaisi’s supporters in Telangana, where voting for all 17 constituencies\u00a0wrapped up<\/a> on May 13 (archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n

However, the video spread in similar posts on\u00a0Facebook<\/a> and on social media platform X<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

West Bengal video<\/h3>\n

A reverse image and keyword search on Google found the video posted<\/a> <\/span>on YouTube in February 2022 — two years before India’s parliamentary elections kicked off (archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n

According to the YouTube video’s description, the incident happened in the Indian state of West Bengal, not Telangana.<\/p>\n

“WB (West Bengal) Municipal Election 2022,” reads the Bengali-language title of the video posted by news channel TV9 Bangla.<\/p>\n

“In booth No. 108 of Ward No. 33 of South Dumdum, the voter did not vote, the agent voted.”<\/p>\n

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Screenshot from TV9 Bangla’s YouTube video, taken on May 21, 2024<\/span><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

The caption of the video and text overlay says: “Instead of voters, a polling agent is casting votes in an EVM (electronic voting machine) centre.”<\/p>\n

TV9 Bangla\u00a0reported<\/a> that a polling agent voted in place of a citizen at the polling station at a school in Lake View School in the Indian city of South Dumdum (archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n

It said the incident happened in full view of an election official.<\/p>\n

Political parties in West Bengal expressed<\/a>\u00a0outrage<\/a> at the apparent voter fraud in X posts (archived here<\/a> and here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Hyderabad City Police\u00a0posted<\/a> on its official account <\/span>on X that the video did not show rigging during the 2024 elections (archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The chief electoral officer of Telangana also refuted<\/a> the claim in a press release (archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n

“It is hereby pointed out that this is an OLD VIDEO, NOT linked to the Parliamentary election in Telangana or to any other election in Telangana,” it said.<\/p>\n

“The poll process in the state was conducted in a free and fair manner.”<\/p>\n

AFP has debunked other misinformation related to the election in India here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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