Social media posts claiming Maharashtra cabinet minister Aaditya Thackeray has changed his Twitter bio by removing his ministerial designation amid the ongoing political turmoil in the state, are false.
Several media outlets such as Zee News English and News18 have also falsely claimed that he has dropped 'minister' from his Twitter bio.
However, BOOM found that Thackeray did not mention his ministerial designation in his Twitter bio in the first place.
Aaditya Thackeray is the minister of Tourism and Environment in the Maharashtra government.
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The Shiv Sena is facing a political turmoil in Maharashtra after Eknath Shinde, Cabinet Minister of Urban Development and Public Works in the state government, has gone out of contact and is reportedly holed up in a hotel in Surat. Read BOOM's report on the Maharashtra political crisis here.
According to news reports, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has meanwhile tested positive for COVID-19.
News outlets including Zee News English, Sandesh as well as several journalists have shared a screenshot of Maharashtra cabinet minister Aaditya Thackeray's Twitter profile falsely claiming that the minister has changed his Twitter bio removing information about his ministerial position. Several social media users hinted this as the Shiv Sena conceding defeat in Maharashtra.
Zee News English' shared a news report on its verified Facebook page with a caption reading 'Aaditya Thackeray changes Twitter bio, removes minister post Aditya Thackeray changes Twitter bio, removes minister post | Watch this update on Maharashtra political crisis'.
The news anchor can be heard saying in Hindi 'Aaditya Thackeray has changed his Twitter bio, has removed the information on ministerial position from his profile. Be it slowly, but have Uddhav Thackeray and Aaditya Thackeray understood that they are losing power?'. The anchor then continues explaining the political situation in the state.
The same was also falsely claimed by News18.
Gujarat-based daily Sandesh also published a report on its website with a headline in Gujrati which translates to 'Uddhav government conceded defeat? Aaditya Thackeray changes Twitter bio profile'.
(Gujarati: ઉદ્ધવ સરકારે હાર માની લીધી? આદિત્ય ઠાકરેએ બદલ્યું ટ્વિટર બાયો પ્રોફાઇલ)
The screenshot of Thackeray's Twitter profile has been shared by several Twitter and Facebook users with similar captions.
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Fact Check
BOOM checked snapshots of Aaditya Thackeray's Twitter profile on the Wayback Machine Internet Archive.
The Shiv Sena leader had won from Mumbai's Worli constituency in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections. He was sworn in as a minister in the Maharashtra cabinet on December 30, 2019.
We found that his Twitter profile, archived on October 6 and October 13 in 2019 had his Twitter bio as 'Voicing the Youth, Poems and Photography: Passion. President, Yuva Sena. President- Mumbai District Football Association Instagram: adityathackeray'.
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An archive of his Twitter profile from March 2020, after his induction into the Maharashtra cabinet, shows that the information in his Twitter bio section was still the same, and continues to be the same as of now.
A comparison of Thackeray's Twitter profile from October 2019, March 2020 and June 2022 can be seen below.
BOOM also checked Thackeray's Facebook and Instagram profiles. We found that while his Facebook profile had the same information, his Instagram profile mentions his cabinet designation.
Aditya Thackeray's Facebook profile
Aditya Thackeray's Instagram profile