A screen grab claiming Home Minister Amit Shah has tested positive for the novel Coronavirus after recently visiting Italy, is fake and has been created using a 'breaking news' generator website.
The image has a logo of Hindi news channel Aaj Tak and a ticker below which states, "Home minister Amit Shah has contracted Coronavirus. Last week he had gone to Italy to roam, and did not get it tested after coming back causing further infection"
BOOM found that the image was created using a breaking news template and adding an unrelated photo of Shah.
BOOM received the forward on its WhatsApp helpline number (7700906111) inquiring about its veracity.
(In Hindi - गृहमंत्री अमित शाह कोरोना की चपेट में. पिछले हफ्ते इटली घूमने गए थे , वापस आने पर जाँच नहीं करवाई जिससे संक्रमण और ज्यादा फ़ैल)
On searching with the caption we found that the same screen grab was being shared on Facebook with the false claim.
Click here to view, and here for an archive.
Will @HMOIndia @AmitShah clarify about this news pic.twitter.com/9Zdc0OoI6r
— Kashyap Nandan (@kashyapnandan_) March 26, 2020
Click here for an archive
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FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the 'Breaking News' template used in the viral graphic was added using 'Break Your Own News' meme generator. One can insert any image of their choosing and add a news ticker of their own using the website.
Additionally, we did not find any news reports stating that Amit Shah tested positive for COVID-19, or had visited Italy as claimed.
From Parody To Fake News
On searching with the keywords, "Amit Shah" and 'Coronavirus' in Hindi on Twitter, we found that the viral graphic was tweeted by an Aaj Tak parody account with the handle name (@Aak_Thu).
The parody account had tweeted the viral image with the caption when translated from Hindi reads, "#BreakingNews The rumor being spread against Mr. Chronology's fat brother, we do not confirm it yet (I say you guys should be cautious and careful). This is a corona, anyone can get it."
#BreakingNews
— आक थु न्यूज़ Quarantine (@Aak_Thu) March 26, 2020
मिस्टर क्रोनोलोजी वाले मोटा भाई के खिलाफ फैला जा रही अफवाह हम इसकी अभी पुस्टि नहीं करते है ( मैं तो कहता हूँ आप लोग सचेत रहे और सावधान रहे ) ये कोरोना है किसी को भी हो सकता है । pic.twitter.com/d5oLzKpORc
The account in its bio states that it is not related to the Hindi news channel and is a parody account.
BOOM has previously debunked screengrabs created using the Breaking News meme generator.
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