A tweet by a fake Nita Ambani account urging people to support and stand by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minster Amit Shah is viral on social media. The fake tweet went viral in light of the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). A Reliance group spokesperson confirmed to BOOM that the account was fake and impersonating Nita Ambani.
The screenshot of the fake tweet also has Ambani's photo as the display picture, leading many to believe that it is her account. BOOM found that the account which has now been suspended was regularly posting tweets showing support to the Citizenship act. It is not clear when the handle was suspended by Twitter.
The tweet when translated reads, "Friends, the time has come to stand with Modi and Shah because if they break today, then no one will dare to take a big decision. Support them". (In Hindi - मित्रों अब वक़्त आ चुका है मोदी और शाह के साथ खड़े होने का क्योंकि आज अगर ये टूट गए तो फिर कोई हिम्मत नहीं करेगा बड़ा निर्णय लेने का)
BOOM received the viral screenshot on our WhatsApp helpline number (7700906111) enquiring about it.
Several Twitter users fell for the fake account, with some tweeting that they would boycott the telecom company Jio, founded and run by her husband Mukesh Ambani. An audio recording of a Jio user stating that he is porting to another telecom service provider because of the tweet is also circulating on social media.
@NitaAmbaani thanks a lot for showing your trend and thoughts regarding indian public. For that i have been port out from jio and quit all reliance services. JAI HIND.....
— Kamil Shaikh (@kamilshaikh777) December 21, 2019
shame on you Nita Ambani
— riyaz (@PariyaniRiyaz) December 20, 2019
Boycott Jio and all Reliance products @KapilSharmaK9@AmreliaRuhez @INCIndia @Republic_Bharat @narendramodi @SrBachchan @BeingSalmanKhan @iamsrk @Nita__Ambani pic.twitter.com/k3fYPAo5ZA
We also looked for media reports about any comment by Nita Ambani about the Citizenship bill and did not find any such reports.
Searching with the suspended handle's name (@nitambaani) in the search bar on Twitter, we found that several Twitter users had tweeted that they reported the account for abusive and hateful tweets and had claimed credit for it getting suspended.
RIP Case- 630 @NitaAmbaani
— Bhakt's Nightmare (@Rantinglndian_) December 20, 2019
17.6k a/c swaha! 😅
Suspended by- @Twitter
Category - Namorogi bhakt/ lsIam0ph0be/ Member of BJP IT cell/ fake account
Reason- abuser & Hate-monger
Reported by- Team BKJ pic.twitter.com/hZOcyqk7cv
Also Read: Did Amitabh Bachchan Criticise Delhi Police For Crackdown On Jamia Students?
The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 was passed by the Parliament on December 11 and has since led to widespread protests across the country. The Act permits six non-Muslim religious minorities, who come to India as refugees fleeing religious persecution, expedited access to Indian citizenship. While opponents of the Act say that it is discriminatory, the government says that it is a humane piece of legislation for helpless refugees with nowhere else to go.