Twitter identifies BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya's tweet as 'manipulated media'

Microblogging and social networking service Twitter has identified a post shared bt BJP’s IT cell head Amit Malviya as "manipulated media", in the midst of an increased attempt by the microblogging site to warn users about fake news.

Taking this into account, several Twitter users remarked that this is the first instance of the social media site calling out "fake news" in the country.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had shared an image of a policeman beating up an old farmer who was among those protesting against the new farm laws at Delhi's Singhu border. "It is a very sad photo. Our slogan was 'Jai Jawan Jai Kisan' but today, PM Modi's arrogance made the jawan stand against the farmer," the Congress leader wrote in his tweet.

Responding to Congress leader's tweet, Amit Malviya shared a clip labelling it as “reality”, which showed the policeman’s baton not touching the farmer.

As soon as this happened, numerous fact-checking websites reported that Amit Malviya had tweeted a fabricated clip.

“Amit Malviya shared a few seconds of a clipped video to suggest that the elderly farmer wasn’t hit. This was an attempt to water down the force used by police against the protestors. It must be pointed out that whether the baton touched the farmer or not is irrelevant. The video was shot at a time when large numbers of protestors had broken police barricades and the cops were retaliating with lathi-charge and tear gas,” Alt News had concluded.

BOOMLive, fact-checked Malviya's claim by talking to the old farmer who is seen being hit in the video. He is currently at the Haryana-Delhi border. He was quoted as saying that he had sustained injuries on his forearm, back, and calf muscle.

"My arms have turned black and blue where the lathi hit me and there are bruises on my back too. They can say I have not been hit, but I am right here if they want to come and see my injuries," Singh told BOOMLive.

Also Read: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacks Centre over farmers protest