An image claiming to show a graphic by The News Minute (TNM) predicting a landslide victory for Telugu Desam Party (TDP) led NDA alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party and Jana Sena Party (JSP) in the upcoming Andhra Pradesh assembly election, is fake.
BOOM, in its factcheck, found that The News Minute has not released any such exit poll for the assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh predicting a NDA victory. Andhra Pradesh assembly elections are being held along with the general elections, the results of which will be declared on June 4, 2024.
The ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) led by CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy faces the opposition NDA alliance of TDP led by N. Chandrababu Naidu, along with the BJP and Pawan Kalyan's JSP.
The viral graphic shows an exit poll that shows polls by several news channels predicting a victory for the NDA.
The graphic was posted on Instagram by the handle @Manaanantapurtdp with the caption, "#CycleisComing #ycpantham #jaganpaniayipoyindi"
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BOOM also received the viral graphic on our WhatsApp number (7700906588) inquiring about its authenticity.
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that The News Minute has not released any such exit poll for the Andhra Pradesh assembly election and the viral graphic has been edited from an old TNM article with the fake poll numbers.
The News Minute posted a statement on X clarifying that the outlet has not released any such survey regarding the Andhra Pradesh assembly election as being attributed to it. The statement further added the viral graphic has been taken from a 2019 article and edited with the fake figures.
The statement read, "This is to clarify that an old image from our story written in 2019 has been shared falsely claiming that we have made a prediction for the Andhra Pradesh Assembly election. It is to be noted that as per the Model Code of Conduct no agency/news organisation can share any figures/opinion polls/ exit polls until the conclusion of the elections, which is still underway in other parts of the country.”
The original graphic is taken from a May 19, 2019 TNM article titled "Mixed predictions for TDP and YSRCP in Andhra for Lok Sabha: Exit polls".
In the original graphic below, we can see that the numbers cited here are different from the viral graphic which predicts an outright NDA victory. Also the original 2019 graphic had exit poll numbers for Andhra Pradesh Lok Sabha seats, and not assembly seat numbers.
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BOOM has debunked several such fake polls around the 2024 Andhra Pradesh assembly and Lok Sabha elections that have gone viral in these past few months.