Prime Minister Imran Khan slipped into another faux pass after he misquoted a video as Uttar Pradesh Police brutally baton charging Muslim protestors, protesting against the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act.
In a botched attempt to expose New Delhi’s prejudice against its Muslim population, PM Khan ended up sharing a wrong video.
Premier Khan shared the video of police violence on protestors and captioned it “India’s police pogrom against Muslims in UP.”
India Today's Fact Check team busted the fake claims over the video, in which 'RAB' was written on the uniforms of the policemen.https://t.co/c8cv1uMPOI
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) January 3, 2020
India slams Pakistan PM #ImranKhan for peddling “fake news” after he tweeted a video of what he claimed was police action in Uttar Pradesh but turned out to be of an incident in Bangladeshhttps://t.co/tSr5FKe8iD
— The Hindu (@the_hindu) January 4, 2020
The video turned out to be of Bangladesh’s police assaulting the protestors in Dhaka in May 2013.
Uttar Pradesh Police slammed PM Khan for posting an unverified video on his Twitter account with counterfeit claims.
Read more: Respect Earned: Billboards Expressing Love For Imran Khan In India Sparks Fury
“This is not from U.P, but from a May 2013 incident in Dhaka, Bangladesh.The RAB (Rapid Action Battalion) written on the vests at 0:21s, 1:27s or the Bengali spoken, or these links would help you be better informed,” wrote UP Police in response to PM Khan’s tweet.
This is not from U.P, but from a May,2013 incident in Dhaka,Bangladesh.The RAB(Rapid Action Battalion) written on the vests at 0:21s, 1:27s or the Bengali spoken, or these links would help you be better informed.
1. https://t.co/Rp3kcKHz2K
2.https://t.co/zf7qk9bY7M@UPPViralCheck https://t.co/4krjmD38PK— UP POLICE (@Uppolice) January 3, 2020
Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan tweets an old video of violence from Bangladesh and says, 'Indian police's pogrom against Muslims in UP.' pic.twitter.com/6SrRQvm0H9
— ANI (@ANI) January 3, 2020
Tweet Fake News.Get Caught.
Delete Tweet. Repeat#Oldhabitsdiehard pic.twitter.com/MjFtzP0WHW— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) January 3, 2020
PM Khan, however, removed the video from his Twitter account soon after hue and cry from India.
A state-level condemnation poured in from India with India’s Ministry of External Affairs accusing PM Khan of peddling fake propaganda across the world.
India’s Muslims do not need Imran Khan or Pakistan to speak for them. Period
— Nidhi Razdan (@Nidhi) January 3, 2020
Pakistan PM should be checking on the worrying situation at Nankana Saheb https://t.co/PcwzXAiBHJ
— Suhasini Haidar (@suhasinih) January 3, 2020
“Tweet Fake News. Get Caught. Delete Tweet. Repeat,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted with hashtag ”Old habits die hard”.
Indians viewed the tweets of fake videos from PM Khan’s account as an attempt to instigate the Muslim population against the government.
Moreover, condemnation swarmed from other notable Indian journalists, who described it ‘irresponsible’ on behalf of PM Khan to rattle unverified information through his social media platform.
It was later revealed that PM Khan had tweeted the videos on the news reports earlier broadcasted on Geo News. The Geo News had broadcasted these videos purportedly claiming it the footages of Indian Police brutally assaulting the protestors in UP.
Incase you are wondering why did the PM tweet a wrong video. pic.twitter.com/LadmKDwcRe
— Adeel Raja (@adeelraja) January 3, 2020
A video of Geo News apologizing for broadcasting an unverified video on its channel went viral on social media. However, government officials must be wary of their overwhelming Twitter following; a slight mistake can stymie Pakistan’s incessant fight against India.
Read more: Muslims in India have nothing more to fear
Moreover, Prime Minister Imran Khan is the fifth most followed world leader on Twitter, the latest report of ranking site Twiplomacy revealed last month. The list took into account the social media record of the top 50 world leaders.
The following of Imran Khan on Twitter experienced an exponential rise in the past few months; within a couple of months, he ascended to the fifth spot in the rankings of the world’s most-followed leader from previously standing at the sixth spot in October.
Hence, each message posted from PM Khan’s account has colossal consequences for Pakistan and India.