Bharatmala Pariyojana: Phase 1: 5,35,000 crore rupees for expanding highways sector with multi-modal integration

The Cabinet has accorded approval to the investment proposal for the umbrella highway sector programme Bharatmala Pariyojana (BMP) Phase I for development/upgradation of 34,800 km of National Highways (NHs) with an outlay of Rs.5,35,000 crore for over a five year period i.e. from 2017-18 to 2021-22. In addition, 48,877 kms of projects under other ongoing schemes like NH(O), Special Accelerated Road Development Programme in North East (SARDP-NE), Externally Aided Projects (EAP) and Roads Projects in Left Wing Extremism Affected Areas (LWE) are also to be implemented during the same period. This has an approved additional outlay of Rs.1,57,324 crore. Therefore, including Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I, 83,677 kms of highway sector projects are proposed to be implemented with an overall cost of Rs.6,92,324 crore over a five year period. [...] Union Budget for 2018-19 gave massive push to National Highways as the budgetary allocation was pegged at Rs 71,000 crore, up from Rs 61,000 crore allocated during 2017-18. "India needs massive infrastructure development up to Rs 50 lakh crore… At this speed, I am confident we will complete construction of 90,000 km of National Highways," Arun Jaitley, union minister for finance, said during the budget speech.


A Muslim boy attacked a Hindu girl in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh, in yet another Love Jihad incident

A social media post accompanied by a video claims that a Hindu girl was attacked with a knife by a Muslim boy in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh. This is being branded as yet another incident of Love Jihad. Let’s verify the claim made in this post through this article. [...] Fact: The boy who attacked the girl is a Hindu named Sushil Yadav. Local Police clarified that there is no Love Jihad angle in this incident. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE. [...] To sum up, There is no "Love Jihad" angle in the Seoni knife attack incident.


India with 5288 tops the list of countries with most universities

A social media post that claims that India tops the list of countries with the most universities is being widely circulated. The post puts India on top of the list with 5288 universities, followed by USA & Indonesia. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post. [...] This list categorizes universities in a country based on their world rankings. With 56 universities in the top 100, the USA tops the list. Though India did not find any mention under the top 500 universities, as per the list, the total number of universities in the country stands at 5288. Most likely, the viral list of countries with the most universities could have been from this list. Because, according to these rankings, the total number of universities in India stands at 5288, followed by the USA (3216) & Indonesia (2595).


“When the entire opposition unites, then understand that the king of the country is honest”- Chanakya

Background: Chanakya has uttered the above sentences. After Chanakya and Chandragupta established the 'Maurya' dynasty kingdom (defeating the Nand dynasty king), there were some difference of opinions between Chanakya and other ministers of the Kingdom. [...] See the confidence of Chanakya in himself! Apart from being self-confident, this subhaashita also teaches us that whatever we loose in life it is nothing... But let us not loose good mind/intellect and other noble qualities in ourselves.


More line of control violations under NDA than UPA

As Pakistan continues to violate ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, the ruling-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition-led by the Congress party spar over each other's handling of the situation. [...] There were 1,094 terror-related incidents under the NDA regime (2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017), while under the UPA Government, the figure was 1,218 from 2010 to 2013. [...] Official figures further reveal that more terrorists were killed by the security forces during the BJP's tenure than under the UPA.


1054 essential medicines brought under price control regime

The latest DPCO, 2013 [6] was notified on 15 May 2013 for the implementation of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy (NPPP), 2012 [7]. The NPPP’s objective was ‘to put in place a regulatory framework for pricing of drugs to ensure availability of essential medicines at reasonable prices even while offering adequate opportunity for innovation and competition to support the pharmaceutical industry. As per the DPCO, 2013 all the drugs under the National List of Essential Medicines (n = 348) notified by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare were brought under price control. DPCO 2013 set the price ceilings for these medicines averaging the existing market prices (of all brands that have a market share of 1% or greater) and adding a 16 per cent retailer’s margin to it. In addition, the brands priced below the ceiling price were required to maintain the prices at current levels, whereas the brands priced above the price cap had to reduce their prices.


A poster branding PM Modi as a nation robber has been put up in New York

A photo of a famous TV series ‘Money Heist’ poster with the text that reads, "MR N Modi. We only rob banks. You rob the whole nation," is being shared on social media with a claim that it was displayed in New York. This claim coincides with PM Modi’s three-day visit to the US. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article. [...] The Quint reported, "On 3 July, a billboard mimicking Money Heist came up at LB Nagar – where the BJP has strong presence in local bodies and where the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had held an infamous march in 2020 – stating, "We only rob bank. You rob the whole nation." The hoarding addressed PM Modi. Additional news reports on this topic can be found here and here. [...] To sum up, this poster is old and has no connection to PM Modi’s ongoing US visit.


India has validated elimination of maternal and neo-natal tetanus in may 2015, before the global target of December 2015.

The BJP government has published an infographic on the 48-months portal that makes five claims about eliminating diseases & vaccination. This article is a fact check of the claims.


Rs. 1,290 crore rupees allocated under National Bamboo Mission to help setting up small industries.

Rs 1,290 crore announced for the National Bamboo Mission to help setting up of small industries and create new employments opportunities in bamboo sector. [...] New Funds of Rs10,000 crore announced for Fisheries and Animal Husbandry sectors; Re-structured National Bamboo Mission gets Rs.1290 crore. [...] *Allocation for the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) increased to Rs 5,750 crore in 2018-19 from Rs 4,500 crore.


Recent visuals of liquor mafia gang assaulting a police officer during Mahagatbandhan’s rule in Bihar

Video shows liquor mafia gang thrashing ASI Ashutosh Kumar on 05 September 2020 for obstructing their illegal liquor business. On receiving the information, Jakkanpur Police reached the spot with extra force and rescued the injured ASI. However, during this period, Nitish Kumar served as the CM of Bihar with support from the BJP. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.


Raghuram Rajan had warned Rahul Gandhi and P Chidambaram about Nirav Modi, but they forced him to remain silent and kept approving loan till May 2014

Several readers sent BOOM an image of Rajan that was circulating on WhatsApp, along with a quote that attributed the following statement to him – "I had warned Rahul Gandhi and P Chidambaram about frauds of Nirav Modi. But they forced me to remain quiet and kept approving the loans till May 2014. Why am I being blamed for the PNB scam now?." [...] "I had warned @OfficeOfRG and @PChidambaram_IN about frauds of #NiravModi. But they forced me to remain silent and kept approving the loans till May 2014. Why am i being blamed for the PNB Scame now"?- Raghuram Rajan, Ex-governor, RBI pic.twitter.com/Hp850LFk1l— Lalitesh Kushwah (@KushwahLalitesh) March 8, 2018 [...] Posted by Rajaram Pattabiraman on Thursday, March 8, 2018 "I had warned Rahul Gandhi & P Chidambaram about fraud of NIRAV MODI. But, they forced me to remain silent and kept…


Website offering prizes in the name of Mohammed bin Rashid Ramadan Competition

There is no such official competition being organised in the name of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The URL shared is a phishing website intended to steal personal information of the users. Further the domain of the URL is known for hosting phishing websites. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.


Interview of Bill Gates where he was accused of stealing Microsoft Software and making money by promoting COVID-19 vaccines

A video showing Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates abruptly ending an interview after being accused of profiting off the pandemic by selling COVID-19 vaccines that caused "side effects and deaths", is being widely shared on the internet as a real. [...] The video was tweeted by several social media users including lawyer Prashant Bhushan, who shared it with the caption, "Watch: Bill Gates talking about how he was uniquely qualified to promote the untested & dangerous Covid Vaccines! Would be funny if the man had not done so much damage to the world. But he is still feted in India. Indian Express recently invited him to deliver the Goenka lecture." The tweet was later deleted by him. [...] We could not find a single instance in the interview, which matched the viral video. Ferguson, in the entire video, does not accuse Gates of stealing software, selling software with bugs or claim that he profited during the pandemic by selling vaccines that had side-effects and caused deaths. Furthermore, Gates is seen finishing the interview amicably, and does not end it abruptly, as seen in the viral video.


More civilians killed under NDA than UPA

Total terror related incidents under UPA & NDA govt. are 9739 & 1219. So, the claim is FALSE.


Social media ads propagating a downloadable variant of Google’s AI chatbot, Bard

The Financial Times reported on Thursday that Google plans on incorporating the same AI tech powering the Bard chatbot into its advertising tools. This is according to an internal Google presentation for ad buyers cited in the Financial Times report. [...] The Times also reported that there are concerns about ads spreading misinformation this way. Bard famously got basic information wrong in its own announcement, and some Google employees have had ethical concerns about the chatbot since before it launched. For what it's worth, Google apparently will have defenses in place to make sure these AI-generated ad campaigns don't do anything weird.


Setu Bharatam project for safer roads. Making all national highways free of railway level crossings, by 2019, by building railway over bridges/under passes. Total outlay of 20, 800 crore rupees.

The BJP government published an infographic on the 48-months portal. This infographic contains claims about the Bharatmala Pariyojana and Setu Bharatam Project. This article is a fact check of those claims.


British authorities denied Savarkar the barrister degree and law practice, because Savarkar refused to take the oath of allegiance/loyalty to the British Empire

Savarkar was denied admission to the bar at Gray’s Inn because of his involvement in political activities. Historical documents endorsed the same view. Biographies of Savarkar also mentioned it is his involvement in political activities cost him admission to the bar. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.


Hindus who wish to express their support for the Uniform Civil Code should give a missed call to ‘9090902024’ before 06 July 2023

In fact, when the issue was being hotly debated in the Parliament during the discussions on the Hindu Code, some apologists for the status quo referred to the Vedas and the dharmashashtras , stating that the rule of conduct is the highest law: they tried to place custom and tradition on a pedestal even above the protection of human rights. Other speakers, while supporting the need for a UCC, cleverly disguised their opposition by emphasising the need to respect diversity amongst the various communities and castes within the Hindus. Of course, some of the more vocal critics spoke about the dangers to the Hindu religion if the UCC was approved. 8 3. And three, and in favour of the UCC, it is also well known that the Hindu law for a long time discriminated against women by depriving them of inheritance, remarriage and divorce. Their condition, especially those of Hindu widows and daughters, was poor due to this and other prevalent customs. Could religious practices be employed to deny basic fundamental rights and freedoms to women? Could not the UCC be employed to rectify the errors of a rigid discriminatory society and bring greater equity and compassion into social life? [...] The Hindu Code and the "curious" call for a UCC [...] VII. THE HINDU CODE: DEBATES, DILUTIONS, AND THE CALL FOR A UNIFORM CIVIL CODE


RBI issued new guidelines to banks to treat scribbled notes as invalid

Fact: RBI did not issue any such new guidelines stating scribbled bank notes as invalid. RBI on their website clearly stated that all bank notes with writings or colour stains on them will continue to be legal tender, provided they are decipherable. Lately, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) through a tweet clarified the same saying that bank notes with scribblings on them will still continue to be legal tender. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE. When searched to check whether RBI has issued any such news guidelines announcing scribbled notes as invalid, we could not find any such new guidelines on the RBI website. RBI in their ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section mentioned about the scribbled notes and said, "All Bank notes including Mahatma Gandhi (New) series notes with writing or colour stains on them continue to be legal tender, provided they are decipherable. Such notes can be deposited or exchanged in any bank branch." [...] On 08 January 2023, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) tweeted clarifying that RBI had not issued any new guidelines announcing scribbled notes as invalid. The RBI has on multiple occasions issued clarifications on these rumours of banks not accepting currency notes with anything written on them, and confirmed these rumours as fake.


It is not mandatory for a woman to submit her marriage certificate or divorce decree while applying for passport

The provision for retaining the maiden name in passport always existed. While the PM was referring to the rule about single parents, the media understood it as the maiden name.


Provided for penalties for offences committed against persons with disabilities (PwDs)

The Lok Sabha today passed "The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill – 2016". The Bill will replace the existing PwD Act, 1995, which was enacted 21 years back. The Rajya Sabha has already passed the Bill on 14.12.2016. [...] xviii. The Bill provides for penalties for offences committed against persons with disabilities and also violation of the provisions of the new law. [...] The Bill provides for penalties for offences committed against persons with disabilities and also violation of the provisions of the new law. Special Courts will be designated in each district to handle cases concerning violation of rights of PwDs. Reservation in vacancies in government establishments has been increased from 3% to 4% for certain persons or class of persons with benchmark disability. Office of Chief Commissioner of Persons with Disabilities has been strengthened who will now be assisted by 2 Commissioners and an Advisory Committee comprising of not more than 11 members drawn from experts in various disabilities. Every child with benchmark disability between the age group of 6 and 18 years shall have the right to free education.


The Titanic ship was switched with the HMS Olympic and deliberately sunk as part of an insurance fraud scheme

This tl;dr of this theory is that after the Olympic was damaged, the White Star Line switched it with the Titanic and purposely sunk it to claim the Titanic’s insurance. So, how did the Olympic receive the initial damage? During its fifth for-profit trip, the Olympic literally had a run-in with the HMS Hawke, off the tip of southern England. Both ships received extensive damage from the accident, though ultimately currents from the Olympic were found to be the fault of the incident. It was out of commission for nearly four months, meaning the White Star Line not only lost money on repairs, but also lost out on the cruises the Olympic could have run during that time. In comes the sinister theory – executives on the White Star Line decided to rebrand the Olympic as a new ship – the Titanic. They then took out an insurance policy on the "new" ship to get a larger payout than they would have gotten from the damaged "old" ship. So let’s get into why this is ridiculous, and why it didn’t happen. [...] Apart from those ethical holes in the plot, the Olympic showed so much wear and tear after having been used for a year that calling it new surely would have raised eyebrows. Additionally, the insurance coverage for the Titanic would not monetarily cover the loss of the Olympic. And while the ships were nearly identical from the outside, the Titanic boasted far more amenities – especially when it came to dining. Those improved dining rooms were found in the wreckage.


Bridges over Narmada at Bharuch and Chambal at Kota.

A new four lane, Extra-dosed Bridge across river Narmada at Bharuch, inaugurated by the Prime Minister on 9th of March 2017, has brought major relief for people travelling on the Vadodara- Surat section of NH-8. The 1.4 km ‘Extradosed’ cable stayed bridge is the longest in India and the second such bridge in the country after Nivedita Setu over Hooghly. (v) Bridge over River Chambal at Kota A 6-lane Cable Stayed Bridge across river Chambal at Kota was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 29th August 2017. Built at a cost of Rs. 278 Crores, this bridge marks the completion of the East-West corridor.


GrAMs, electronically linked to e-NAM, to make direct sale to consumers and bulk purchasers.

The third claim is that ‘GrAMs, electronically linked to e-NAM, to make direct sale to consumers and bulk purchasers’. A response in Lok Sabha in February 2019 stated that ‘in the Union Budget 2018-19, Government has announced upgradation and development of existing 22,000 village haats to Gramin Agriculture Market (GrAMs) through convergence of various schemes such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and others. The GrAMs are to be exempted from Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) regulations and linked to e-NAM. These GrAMs are intended to facilitate farmers in selling their produce to direct buyers’. [...] Fact: GrAMs (Gramin Agriculture Markets) are an up-gradation to the existing village haats through the convergence of different government schemes. These are to be linked to the e-NAM to facilitate farmers in selling their produce directly to buyers. Hence, the claim is TRUE. However, it has to be noted that the village haats have been in existence for a long time.


Inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) introduced in Nov 2015. Around 4 crore doses administered to children.

New vaccines · Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV): IPV has been introduced in UIP as part of Global Polio end-game strategy, to mitigate the risk associated with tOPV to bOPV switch. IPV was introduced in November 2015 initially in 6 states, which was expanded across the country by April 2016. [...] · A total of six phases of Mission Indradhanush have been completed covering 554 districts across the country. · It was also identified as one of the flagship schemes under Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (16,850 villages across 541 districts) and Extended Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (48,929 villages across 117 aspirational districts).


Social security has been made a nationwide phenomenon with Jan Suraksha

Lim SS, Dandona L, Hoisington JA, James SL, Hogan MC, Gakidou E. India's Janani Suraksha Yojana, a conditional cash transfer programme to increase births in health facilities: an impact evaluation. Lancet. 2010;375:2009–23.


Farm credit target has been raised to a record high of 11 lakh crore rupees for 2018-19.

Farm credit target raised to Rs 11 lakh crore for 2018-19 from Rs 10 lakh crore in 2017-18. [...] Farm Credit raised to 11 lakh crore in 2018-19 from 8.5 lakh crore in 2014-15. [...] Under SSA. the RE for 2016-17 was Rs 22500 crore out of which 96.35% was spent. The RE for 2017-18 was allocated at Rs 23500 crore out of which 82.21% has been released as on 28 02.2018. The BE for 2018-19 has been increased by 11.2% to Rs 26128.81 crore.


Bhutan has become the first country in the world without Mosques

In the Asia-Pacific region, 10 countries (20%) have an official state religion, and nine countries (18%) have a preferred or favored religion. While 44% of Asia-Pacific countries have no official or favored religion, the region has the highest share of countries (18%) with a hostile relationship with religion. Tajikistan’s constitution, for example, does not recognize a state religion and allows individuals to adhere to any religion.16 In practice, however, the government keeps tight control over religious institutions. It restricts Muslim prayer to certain locations, regulates mosques and bars children (those under 18) from participating in public religious activities. Imams must be approved by the Committee on Religious Affairs, and the content of their sermons is controlled. The government also reportedly has surveillance cameras at mosques, and donations to mosques by individuals are banned.17


AMRIT pharmacies provide drugs for cancer and cardiovascular diseases at a discount of 60 to 90 percent

The pharmacy named AMRIT -- Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment -- will have 202 drugs of cancer and cardiovascular diseases where the price is going to be reduced on an average by 60 to 90 per cent. "Under the AMRIT programme, we want to give medicines at an affordable cost. We have identified 202 drugs of cancer and cardio-vascular diseases where the price is going to reduced on an average by 60 to 90 per cent. In the same way, 148 cardiac implants will be given from the centre and sold here and their cost will be reduced by 50 to 60 per cent," Mr Nadda said on the occasion. [...] "Some of the prices of the AMRIT Pharmacy drugs are strikingly low such as Amrit will sell 'Docetaxel 120mg' used for chemotherapy cycle at Rs.888.75 (93 per cent rebate) for one cycle, when the MRP of the injection is Rs.13,440. Similarly, Caboplatin 450 mg would be sold at Rs.1,316.25 while its MRP is Rs 2,561.57," said AIIMS Director MC Misra.


Visual capture of the occurrence of snowfall in the great mosque of Mecca

Riyadh: A video clip of snowfall in Grand Mosque in Makkah, has been circulating across social media platforms on Sunday. The 55-second video clip, which appeared on social media platforms, showed heavy snowfall in Grand Mosque, and pilgrims enjoying this rare phenomenon. [...] The official spokesperson for the National Center of Meteorology in Saudi Arabia, Hussain Al-Qahtani, made it clear, through his Twitter account, on Sunday evening, that the circulating video of snowfall on the Grand Mosque is not correct and has been created with additional effects.


Mob lynched a Christian and set him on fire over blasphemy charges in Pakistan’s Nankana Sahib

Pakistan mob lynches man over blasphemy allegation: Police [...] The killing came just over two months after a Sri Lankan factory manager was beaten to death and set ablaze by a mob over blasphemy in Sialkot city, also in Punjab. [...] Mob killings over accusations of blasphemy – a crime that can carry the death sentence – are fairly frequent in Pakistan, home to 200 million people, mostly Muslims.


A group of people getting electrocuted during Sri Ramanavami Procession for dancing in front of a Mosque.

Tamil Nadu: 11 people die after being electrocuted during procession


India’s National Anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ is declared by the UNESCO as the best anthem in the world.

In March 2016, a message claiming that UNESCO had named India's "Jana Gana Mana" as the best anthem in the world began circulating on Facebook. This rumor was a reiteration of one that originated in 2008, when it was widely shared via e-mail: [...] "We are aware of several blogs in India reporting this story, but can assure you that Unesco has made no such announcement concerning the anthem of India or any country," she wrote. Regardless of the original intent behind the spreading of this rumor, there is no truth to it. UNESCO has not named India's national anthem, or any other national anthem, to be the world's best:


Payment of wages to workers within 15 days in 85% of the cases as compared to long delays in the past.

The BJP government published an infographic on the 48-months portal making two claims relating to timely payments & women participation in the MGNREGS. This article is a fact check of these claims.


Congress party leaders sat before a banner that reads ‘…Chor Group Meeting.’

Congressional leaders are responsible for developing the party’s agenda, promoting party unity, communicating with national press, liaising with the Executive Branch, and defending and increasing the number of seats the party holds. Party leadership hierarchies have developed over the years, originating first as informal positions which were then formalized and expanded upon.


The conundrum over the BBC documentary is still aflame and gets in yet another controversy anchored on the world’s leading public service broadcaster. Twitter users were quick to notice the faux pas from BBC as the broadcasting agency placed a truncated map of India without Kashmir on their website. BBC removes Kashmir from Indian Map pic.twitter.com/aCRVkstdRn — Rishi Bagree (@rishibagree) January 30, 2023 It was just days before that Anil Antony, son of veteran leader AK Antony apprehended the BBC documentary on PM Modi, much to the chagrin of fellow congress workers. Anil faced a flurry of threats following which he resigned from congress. Albeit resigning, Anil never pulled back any punches and slammed BBC, by sharing on his Twitter page pictures from 2020 showing the news broadcasters' website using an Indian map devoid of Kashmir.


Scenes of protesters firing machine guns during recent clashes in Manipur

This video is old and unrelated to the recent Manipur clashes, as it has been circulating online since 2019 on various Spanish-related Facebook and Instagram channels. Therefore, the claim made in the post is FALSE.


India ranked 9th on the foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in 2016 – World Investment Report 2017.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is a stable means of financing capital requirements of a growing economy and both developed and emerging economies have made major efforts for augmenting the information base on FDI at market value. In India, major advancements have been made in this regard with the implementation of the Co-ordinated Direct Investment Survey (CDIS) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and compilation of Foreign Affiliate Trade Statistics (FATS). The empirical results from the analysis of key factors influencing FDI inflows indicate that trade openness, economic growth, market size, labour cost and capital account openness of the host countries are major determinants of FDI flows. [...] During the last decade, India focused on increasing FDI inflows and introduced a comprehensive FDI liberalisation strategy. During 2015, FDI rules were relaxed in 15 major sectors which include agriculture, civil aviation, construction, defence, manufacturing and mining. In 2016, direct investment regulations were amended further to encourage foreign investment in start-ups and liberalise the investment regime for foreign venture capital investors. During 2019, restrictions on foreign investment in single-brand retail trading, airlines and power exchanges were relaxed. In the beginning of 2020, FDI policy for e-commerce was liberalised in order to safeguard the interests of domestic offline retailers. [...] The reform made a positive foreign investment climate in India and helped in increasing growth in FDI inflows mainly due to strong investment in top three industry recipients viz., ‘manufacturing’, ‘communication’ and ‘financial services’. FDI inflows into India demonstrate increasing trend during 2014-15 to 2018-19 (Chart 4).


Special banking arrangement of Rs. 10,000 crores to clear fertilizer subsidy dues.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has accorded the ex-post facto approval for implementation of Special Banking Arrangement (SBA) for Rs 10,000 crore for payment of outstanding claims on account of fertilizer subsidy in the year 2016-17, an official statement said here on Wednesday. [...] "Under the SBA, a total loan of Rs 9,969 crore for settlement of outstanding subsidy bills with SBI was raised by the government. The loan amount along with interest liability on the part of government amounting to Rs 80.90 crore was paid to State Bank of India," the statement said. The SBA for an amount of Rs. 10,000 crore for the year 2016-17 has already been implemented/ operationalised to overcome the liquidity problems of the fertilizer companies, it added.


Recent picture of Deepika Padukone posing in saffron-coloured heels

Amid the controversy over Deepika Padukone’s saffron-coloured costume in ‘Besharam Rang’ song in ‘Pathaan’, a photo is being shared on social media claiming it as a recent picture showing Deepika Padukone wearing saffron-coloured heels. In the wake of Bajrang Dal activists vandalising ‘Pathaan’ posters at a multiplex in Ahmedabad, this post claims that Deepika Padukone had countered protestors by publishing this picture of her wearing saffron-coloured heels. Let’s verify the claim made in the post. [...] On 17 May 2019, Deepika Padukone’s stylist Shaleena Nathani shared the same picture of Deepika Padukone taken at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. Lately, Deepika Padukone did not pose for any photo wearing saffron-coloured heels. To sum it up, Deepika Padukone’s old photo taken at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival is being linked to the ongoing row over her saffron-coloured costume in Pathaan film.


Modi government reconstructed the Sharda Peeth temple situated in PoK

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) – Amit Shah, Union Home Minister, inaugurated ancient Shri Sharada temple (Sharada Peeth) that was restored recently, in an online event on 22nd March. The temple is located in Teetwal of the Karnah sector near LoC, in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. It is 30 km away from Kupwara. For several decades, the temple was in ruins. Amit Shah said during the event, ‘Similar to the Kartarpur corridor, our Government is working on building a road to Shri Sharada temple. Since the abrogation of article 370, Kashmir’s ancient culture and traditions are being restored. Sharada Peeth is a historical centre of India’s cultural, religious and academic heritage. Once upon a time, the Sharada Peeth was the centre of knowledge in this subcontinent. Scholars across the country used to visit here to gain spiritual knowledge. The Idol of goddess has been installed here before the ‘Chaitra Navaratri’. This is not just the restoration of a temple but the beginning of research about the Sharada civilization. This is one of the Shakti Peethas. Mother Sati’s left hand had fallen here. The Amrut found during the Samudra Manthan (churning of the ocean) was also brought here. Two drops of the Amrut fell here and they stayed in the form of an Idol. Adi Shankaracharya also visited this place and praised goddess Shri Saraswati’.


At the same time in Tarnaka, TJAC chairman Prof M Kodandaram was cutting green chillies to help out his family members. TRS MLA Harish Rao and P Vishnuvardhan Reddy ate food in the backdrop of Hitech city. Vijayashanthi, who represents Medak district in Lok Sabha, tried her hand at frying 'vadiyalu'. She later offered them to Harish Rao who was appreciative of her culinary talents. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader Bandaru Dattatreya and suspended Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLA Nagam Janardhan Reddy had 'pulihora' at Gunpark.


Under the UPA II, the average annual MSP growth rate was 19.3%, under the NDA government; this has fallen to 3.6%

Home / Economy / News / NDA govt's growth rate lower than UPA's 10-year average: Chidambaram NDA govt's growth rate lower than UPA's 10-year average: Chidambaram [...] Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday took a swipe at the NDA government for claiming that the growth rate was better in its rule, saying it was lower than UPA's 10 years average and was going downward.


A woman can choose whether the name in the passport should be of her mother or the father and not both parents.

"Now women won’t have to give their divorce or marriage certificates while applying for a passport. It will be up to a woman on whether she would like to use her mother’s or father’s name." [...] The second half of the statement made by the Prime Minister was, "It’ll be their discretion to use their father or mother’s name in the passport." It is entirely up to the woman to choose between her mother’s and her father’s name in the passport. The statement had nothing to do with retaining her maiden name.


India remains the world’s fastest growing large economy.

India continues to be the fastest-growing major economy in the world and its GDP growth is projected to hit 6.2 per cent in 2024, according to the ‘World Economic Situation and Prospects 2024’ report by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. It said there is a robust domestic demand and strong growth in the manufacturing and services sectors. [...] 1) India remains the fastest-growing large economy in the world. Though growth in India is projected to reach 6.2 per cent in 2024, it is slightly lower than the 6.3 per cent estimate for 2023, amid robust domestic demand and strong growth in the manufacturing and services sectors. [...] 8) India is benefiting from growing interest from multinationals, which see the country as a key alternative manufacturing base in the context of developed economies’ supply chain diversification strategies.


During UPA government’s tenure, the unemployment rate was 2.2% while under NDA government, the unemployment rate is 7.9%.

The employment-unemployment data released by Labour bureau (EUS 2015) has put the rate of unemployment at 5%. Independent estimates also suggested that 2013-15 period saw the total employment shrinking by 70 lakhs heralding a new job loss growth under Modi. The most recent BSE-CMIE data suggested that the rate of unemployment stood at 5.7% in June 2018 and the December data puts it at 7.02%. The GDP estimates also recorded a significant deceleration from 7.5% in July-September 2017 to 5.7% in April-June 2018. The Niti Ayog Vice Chairperson Rajiv Kumar’s rejection of the job data was grounded on his optimism from the high growth rates. But all the window dressing got exposed after the resignation of the acting Chairperson and another member of the National Statistical Commission (NSC) opposing the government decision to delay the findings of the NSSO EUS which was finalised and ready for publishing way back in December 2018. This data that leaked out subsequently in the public domain showed alarmingly higher levels of unemployment. According to this, the country’s unemployment rate stood at over a four-decade high of 6.1% during 2017-18, compared to 2.2% in 2011-12 (see table 1.1) by the usual status approach. [...] 2.2 Lower allocations to MGNREGS


The number of ITRs filed during FY 2017-18 is 6.84 crore, a jump of 80.5% compared to FY 2013-14

"2017-18 direct tax collection recorded at Rs 9.95 lakh crore, up by 17.1 percent year-on-year. Nearly 6.84 crore tax returns were filed compared to 5.43 crore, thus registering a 26 percent year-on-year hike," CBDT Chairman Sushil Chandra said here at a press conference. [...] During FY 2017-18, 6.84 crore Income Tax Returns (ITRs) were filed with the Income Tax Department as compared to 5.43 crore ITRs filed during FY 2016-17, showing a growth of 26 percent. There has been a sustained increase in the number of ITRs filed in the last four financial years. As compared to 3.79 crore ITRs filed in F.Y. 2013-14, the number of ITRs filed during F.Y. 2017-18 (6.84 crore) has increased by 80.5 percent. During FY 2017-18, the number of new ITR filers has also increased to 99.49 lakh (as on March 30) as compared to 85.51 lakh new ITR filers added during FY 2016-17, which translates into a growth of 16.3 percent. (ANI)


Chilli Prices were Rs 12000 per quintal then, now is Rs 3000 to Rs 4000 per quintal

Rahul Gandhi visited Telangana and addressed a public meeting in which he made a lot of claims. We fact check some of his claims.


Brahmins hold a significant majority in high-level government positions

The names and job titles of officers employed in significant government offices like the Prime Minister’s Office, the President’s Office, and various ministries are publicly accessible. However, these disclosures do not provide information regarding their specific categories or classifications. Similar assertions have circulated for years, suggesting that these prominent offices are predominantly controlled by Muslims or Christians, while neglecting Hindus. Nevertheless, these claims lack substantiation and lack a verified source. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.


Rural road connectivity increased from 56% in 2014 to 82% villages.

Has the average speed of rural road construction doubled? Has the average speed of national highway construction increase substantially? Here is a fact check


A woman with ten kids from ten different men was buried in a Phallus-shaped coffin in Ghana, Africa

A woman has been laid to rest in a casket designed in a form of a man’s private part. Ghanaian media practitioner and lawyer, Gabby Otchere-Darko shared the video and further revealed that he was told the deceased had 10 children with different men hence the male organ shaped casket. [...] "I am told this was the final funeral rites with the casket of an amazing woman who died leaving behind 10 children from 10 different men here in Ghana. May she rest in p……"


All students studying Business Management at Seton Hall University in the USA are obligated to study Bhagavad Gita

In USA, the study of the Bhagvad Gita has become mandatory for every student joining Seton Hall University in New Jersey from 2008.The university wanted to introduce a transformational course that will influence the character and life of its students. Also, it wanted a course that seek answers to perennial questions like the purpose of life, why are we here, where are we going, etc,. as part of the course. In India, a bill was introduced by Ramesh Bidhuri, who calls it "Compulsory Teaching of Bhagavad Gits As a Moral Education Text Book In Educational Institutions Bill, 2016. It is believed that every educational institution shall compulsorily teach Bhagavad Gita as a moral education text book. It is justified by its universal message that shaped the greatest thinkers of the time. As per the Bill, "The teachings of Gita is ageless and unbounded. It contains the teaching ranging from spiritual awakening to leadership and management. Teachings of Gita is teaching of humanity and brotherhood. Many great thinkers from our time such as Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi as well as Madhavacharya, Shankara and Ramanuja, from bygone ages, have all deliberated upon its timeless teachings."


Shram Suvidha Portal has been launched that allocates Unique labour identification number and enables online registration of establishments

1. Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India and the State Governments enforce more than 44 labour laws in their respective spheres. There have been requests from various stakeholders for ensuring simplification of formats, ease of compliance, transparency in inspections and speedy redressal of grievances. In order to address these concerns Ministry of Labour & Employment has developed a single unified Web Portal for Online Registration of units, Reporting of inspections and submissions of Annual Returns. [...] 4. This integrated portal operate through common Unique Labour Identification Number (Shram Pehchan Sankhya) for each Establishment. The employers will be allotted Labour Identification Number (LIN) after registration on web portal. The enforcement agency will upload the data of inspection on the web portal which will be updated periodically.


20 Gokul Grams are being established and 41 Bull Mother farms modernized.

It is proposed to establish Integrated Indigenous Cattle Centres or Gokul Grams in the breeding tracts of indigenous breeds. Gokul Grams will be established in: [...] Each Gokul Gram will be set up by the EIA and function under the auspices of the SIA/ EIA or in a PPP mode. The Gokul Gram will maintain milch and unproductive animals in the ratio of 60:40 and will have the capacity to maintain about 1000 animals. Achievements under Rashtriya Gokul Mission - 14 Gokul Grams are being established and 41 Bull Mother Farms modernized.


Double taxation avoidance agreement signed with Mauritius, Cyprus, Singapore

The first claim is that ‘double taxation avoidance agreement signed with Mauritius, Cyprus, Singapore’. [...] The website of the Income Tax department displays all the DTAAs that India has signed. Mauritius, Cyprus and Singapore are on that list along with tens of others. As per the Income Tax website, there are about 135 such agreements of varying nature. [...] The agreement with Cyprus states that ‘an agreement and protocol between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Republic of Cyprus for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income as set out in the Annexure to this notification, was signed at Nicosia, Cyprus on the 18th day of November, 2016’.


The second claim is that Agro based and thematic clusters for skilled manpower and economic opportunities are being identified. According to an answer provided in the Lok Sabha, ‘Rs. 19,961.81 crores of investment have been estimated in the first 197 Integrated Cluster Action Plans (ICAPs). Of the total investment proposed, nearly 78% is targeted towards saturation of Economic and Basic Amenities. Various Thematic Areas have been identified for saturation of Economic Amenities, such as Agri Services and Processing, followed by Skill development to promote Small and Medium Scale Enterprises and Tourism.’ The details of the specific clusters based on various economic themes is available on the SPMRM website. [...] The third claim is that 153 integrated cluster action plans (ICAPs) for 29 states and 1 UT have been developed. As per the answer provided in the Lok Sabha in March 2018, ‘through intense engagements with the States, 197 Integrated Cluster Action Plans (ICAPs), which are the blue prints of investment for each cluster, have been approved for 29 States and 2 UTs.’ [...] Fact: 197 Integrated Cluster Action Plans (ICAPs), which are the blue prints of investment for each cluster, have been approved for 29 States and 2 UTs as of March 2018. Hence, the claim is TRUE.


Allocation in budget 2018 raised to 3 lakh crore rupees, a rise of 20% over previous year.

The BJP government published an infographic titled ‘Harnessing yuva shakti through self-employment’ on the 48-months portal. The infographic makes four claims about self-employment related schemes of Startup India and MUDRA. This article is a fact check of these claims.


Bio-toilets are introduced in train coaches only after 2014

One Lakh Twenty Five Thousands Bio-Toilets Installed in Trains Coaches [...] Beginning with the introduction of 57 bio-toilets in one train i.e. Gwalior-Varanasi Bundelkhand Express in January 2011, Indian Railways has provided about 1,25,000 bio-toilets in its coaches till March 2018. This covers about 60% of coaching fleet of Indian Railways. During 2017-18, IR has installed highest ever bio-toilets in coaches which is 40% higher than the set target of 40,000 bio-toilets and 64% higher than the fitment of 34134 bio-toilets in 2016-17. [...] "Bio-Toilet project" of Indian Railways is an innovative & indigenous development of technology. This technology is first of its kind being used by any railroad in the world for On-board accelerated digestion of human waste. These bio-toilets are fitted underneath the lavatories and the human waste discharged into them is acted upon by a colony of anaerobic bacteria that convert human waste mainly into water and small amount of bio-gases. The gases escape into atmosphere and waste water is discharged after chlorination onto the track. Human waste, thus, does not fall on the railway tracks thus improving cleanliness and hygiene at platforms, and facilitate track and coaches maintenance staff to perform their work more efficiently. The Bio-toilet project is very much aligned with ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’, launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India.


417 Mandis and 87.5 lakh farmers and sellers registered.

- The mandi system too needs to be revisited and alternatives have to be made available so that farmers can choose the point of sale. [...] - The key changes seek to free agricultural markets from the limitations imposed by permits and mandis that were originally designed for an era of scarcity. [...] - These mandis are usually overflowing with fruits and vegetables and the labour force at these centres usually handles the produce without safety gears.


Minimum wage increased by 42%, directly benefiting 55 lakh workers.

The BJP government published an infographic on the 48-months portal that makes 3 claims about labour welfare under the present government. This article is a fact check of the claims.


Pervez Musharraf has said “Biggest strength of Pakistan is Indian Muslims, not the nuclear bombs. They are converting India into an Islamic nation by population explosion. India can repeal article 370 from Kashmir, India can build Ram Temple, India can win war against Pakistan, but India cannot prevent itself from becoming an Islamic nation”.

/Producer (Michael R Chambers) [...] Balance of Power, Bilateral Security Cooperation, Book, China, Conflict Threat Assessment and Risk Analysis, Defense Alliances, Defense Planning, Defense Policy, Demographic Forecasting, Economic Forecasting, Geopolitics, India, Indo-Pakistani Conflict, Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Weapons Proliferation, Pakistan, Regional Stability, Security Threat Perceptions, South Asia, Strategic Culture, War on Terrorism (2001-Present) [...] Conflict Threat Assessment and Risk Analysis


Eating eggs and banana at the same time will kill a man in five minutes.

Since early 2017, the Internet has been littered with "warnings" about the dangers of eating bananas and eggs together (or serially): [...] It is unlikely, for example, that a large restaurant chain such as Denny’s would so enthusiastically promote their "salted caramel banana cream pancake breakfast" (which contains both eggs and bananas) if the risk of death were real. Similarly, the risks of Starbucks' banana bread, which is made with eggs and bananas, would likely discourage the coffee chain from prominently featuring the product in their pastry section if it were going to kill the company's customers. We have uncovered no evidence the story referenced in the warning of a young man's dropping dead on the spot after consuming a banana and an egg is real, and we understand no mechanism by which a person’s death could be triggered by the consumption of a benign egg and banana combination, absent a severe allergy to either food.


All 34 international airports and all 48 domestic airports have been provided with accessible feature.

Sec.36.211 Maintenance of accessible features. [...] (g) Duty to provide accessible features in the event of disproportionality. (1) When the cost of alterations necessary to make the path of travel to the altered area fully accessible is disproportionate to the cost of the overall alteration, the path of travel shall be made accessible to the extent that it can be made accessible without incurring disproportionate costs. [...] Section 36.211 Maintenance of Accessible Features


More than 1.16 crore antenatal check-ups conducted at over 12,900 health facilities.

Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare expressed heartfelt gratitude to the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for his un-daunting support to the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA), as the programme crossed one crore mark in antenatal check-ups. The Union Health Minister stated that Hon’ble Prime Minister of India had envisioned that 9th of every month, symbolizing the 9 months of pregnancy, should be dedicated to pregnant women. The PMSMA programme was launched in 2016 to fulfil his vision and ensure comprehensive and quality antenatal checkups to pregnant women across India. "More than one crore antenatal check-ups have been conducted under the ambitious Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA), which has provided quality antenatal checkups to pregnant women on the 9th of every month. Now safe pregnancy has become a social movement in our country," Shri Nadda added.


Muslim Advocate Adeel Ahmed recently filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a ban on Gadar-2 film

A post is being shared on social media claiming that a Muslim advocate named Adeel Ahmed had filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India seeking a ban on Gadar 2 film, which is said to be released on 26 January 2023. According to the post, the advocate had appealed to the Supreme Court to stop the screening of the Gadar 2 film, accusing the filmmakers of hurting the religious sentiments of the Muslims. Let’s verify the claim made in the post. [...] Fact: As on date, no such petition seeking a ban on Gadar 2 film was filed in the Supreme Court of India. Supreme Court Advocate Adeel Ahmed released a video clarifying that he did not file any such petition against Gadar 2 film. The producers of the movie have not yet announced the official release date of the film. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE. When we searched to check whether any Muslim lawyer named Adeel Ahmed had filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a ban on Gadar 2 film, we could not find any such news on the internet. Though ‘Zee Studios’ confirmed the release of Gadar 2 in 2023, they did not announce the official release date of the film as yet.


The Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) can only accomodate up to 64 candidates.

The Election Commission is working on a new design for electronic voting machines (EVMs) which will accommodate more than the present maximum limit of 64 candidates. This information was given in the Lok Sabha by Law and Justice minister Salman Khurshid in response to a question. "The present EVM is so designed that it can be used only in a constituency, where the maximum number of candidates is sixty four," Mr. Khurshid said in his written reply. "The Election Commission has intimated that they are working on a new design of EVMs, which will accommodate more than 64 candidates," he said.


Shark Tank India’s Judge Vineeta Singh played the role of Raju’s Mother in ‘3 Idiots’ movie

An image is widely shared on social media stating that Sugar Cosmetics CEO and Shark Tank India judge Vineeta Singh had played the character of Raju’s Mother in the 3 Idiots movie. The image is shared on Facebook with a caption: "CEO of Sugar Cosmetics, Vineeta Singh, didn’t feel ashamed or nervous and proudly played the role of a poor mother in 3 Idiots" [...] According to the film’s end credits and IMDb, actress Amardeep Jha, 62, played Raju’s mother (Mrs Rastogi). Vineeta Singh did not appear in this film.


Congress Manifesto: “Will withdraw the AFSPA, reduce army presence if voted”.

The Congress Manifesto promises to amend or review the AFSPA, not withdraw it. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.


Union Minister of State for Home Affairs of India Kiren Rijiju has been re-elected as Member of Parliament from Arunachal Pradesh

Kiren Rijiju (born 19 November 1971) is an Indian politician serving as 28th Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and 7th Minister of Minority Affairs since 2024. He was the Cabinet Minister of Earth Sciences and Food Processing Industries in the Government of India since 2023 till June 2024 and a member of the parliament in Lok Sabha from Arunachal West since 2014 and from 2004 to 2009. Earlier, he served as the Minister of State for Home Affairs from 2014 to 2019, Minister of State for Minority Affairs from 2019 to 2021, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Sports and Youth Affairs from 2019 to 2021 and the Law minister from 2021 to 2023.[3][4] [...] Political career [edit]Kiren Rijiju is a three time MP in Lok Sabha from Arunachal Pradesh (2004, 2014, and 2024). He has served as minister of state (MoS) (independent charge) youth affairs and sports, MoS minority affairs, MoS home affairs, and Minister of Law and Justice. His tenure as Law Minister was marked by controversies. On 18 May 2023, he was assigned the portfolio of Ministry of Earth Sciences.[8] On 10 June 2024, he was appointed as the Union Cabinet Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs in the Government of India. He is one of the three Buddhist MPs in the 18th Lok Sabha.[9]


Families of the deceased persons to be given an assistance of 4 lakh rupees, up from 2.5 lakh rupees.

Death case- 2 lakh Serious injury- 50,000/- 4.5 2 1 10 [...] Death case- 2 lakh Serious injury- 50,000/- 14.5 7 1 4 [...] Death case- 2 lakh Serious injury- 50,000/- 52.50 25 5 4


Contribution of 12% to EPF for new employees for 3 years by the government in sectors employing large number of people.

Government will pay the 12 per cent of wages to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contribution on behalf of new employees in all sections for the next three years. The decision was announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during his Union Budget presentation in Lok Sabha on Thursday. Mr. Jaitley also said the Employees Provident Fund Act will be amended to reduce contribution of women to eight per cent from 12 per cent with no change in employer’s contribution. This would effectively mean women employees will be able to get a higher take-home pay. According to the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), 36.8 lakh new members in the age group of 18-25 years were added as of November 2017.


S.M.S English Medium School in Karnataka designed a Social Studies question paper for 7th standard students, which exclusively asked questions related to Muslim and other communities, indicating bias against Hinduism

The question paper analysis of the SSLC Karnataka social science subject has been provided below after the availability of the final exam paper. Inputs have been taken from expert faculty and students (who took the exam) for doing a proper analysis of the question paper. The Karnataka SSLC Social Science question paper was of the moderate difficulty level. All the questions in the exam was asked from the standard syllabus. The objective questions were simple and scoring. The subjective questions were a bit lengthy. Overall the exam paper was scoring. As per the experts, students who would have practiced in the final days can score above 90 percent comfortable. The students also reported that they could complete the exam in time. [...] The Karnataka SSLC Social Science model paper 2024 contains questions from the standard syllabus prescribed by the Karnataka Board. The model question paper has been released in both Kannada and English language, just like the exam paper. The model paper contains exactly the same number of questions in the exact pattern as present in the actual board exam paper. That is why, students must practice the sample paper to have an idea about the question nature and difficulty level.


No organisation associated with Islam participated in the relief work during the Odisha train accident

Islamic organizations, such as Dawat-e-Islami India and Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind, have actively participated in the relief work following the Odisha accident. They have provided essential supplies like food and water to the victims and facilitated transportation to nearby hospitals. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.


atayu, a mythical bird from Ramayana, is found alive for first time in Kaliyug in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh

Recently, a video of a big vulture captured in Kanpur is making round in social media with claims that it was Jatayu, a mythological bird from the Ramayana, that was revered for helping Rama to inform him about Sita. The claim obviously said the Jatayu bird is still alive as seen in Uttar Pradesh now. The video, shared on Facebook, carried a caption:"कलयुग में पहली बार जिंदा मिले रामायण के जटायु! उत्तर प्रदेश के कानपुर में दिए साक्षात दर्शन" (English translation: Jatayu of Ramayana found alive for the first time in Kalyug! Gave live darshan in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh) [...] Similar vultures were seen in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra in 2018 and 2021, respectively. Hence, the claim in video of the Himalayan Griffon Vulture rescued in Uttar Pradesh as Jatayu described in epic Ramayana is misleading.


Visuals of a Hindu girl lying in a pool of blood after being murdered by her Muslim lover in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh

A video of a woman lying in a pool of blood is being widely shared, claiming that it depicts the brutal murder of a Hindu woman by her Muslim lover in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. Let’s verify the claim made in the post. [...] Furthermore, our investigation revealed that the screenshot of Jagran news headline overlaid on viral video pertains to a separate murder incident in Jabalpur that occurred last year. The perpetrator, in that case, was identified as Hemant Rajendra Bhadane, and the victim was named Shilpa. FACTLY had already debunked this video when it previously went viral, refuting claims of it being related to alleged love jihad. [...] To sum it up, an old unrelated video from Colombia is being shared as an incident Muslim Man murdering a Hindu girl in Jabalpur.


There were 83,000 common service centers pre 2014. This number has increased to 2.92 lakh post 2014.

"CSC e-Governance Services India Limited" : You can locate your nearest Common Service Center in your locality. Choose your State from above Dropdown to Search List of Common Service Centers in State.


While Manmohan Singh spent Rs 12 crore per trip i.e. Rs 493 crore on 38 trips, Modi spent only Rs 10 crore per trip i.e. Rs 443 crore on 44 trips.

Till now, PM Modi has taken 44 trips to foreign countries, 6 more than his predecessor Manmohan Singh took during UPA-2. However, the expenses incurred on Modi’s foreign visits are almost Rs 50 crore lesser than that of the latter. As PM, Singh undertook 38 trips abroad in those five years, and incurred an expenditure of Rs 493.22 crore, while Modi has so far been charged Rs 443.4 crore for official foreign visits by Air India. [...] The reason behind lower cost despite more journeys is Modi’s formula of "single ticket double journey" or in other words, travelling to multiple destinations during an overseas trip, as he told HT in an interview. While Manmohan Singh travelled mostly to one or two destinations, Modi flew to as many as to six countries on a single trip when he visited Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in 2015; 16 of his trips were to multiple countries. Also, while during Singh’s tenure, Air India One was used even on short-haul tours, PM Modi used the business jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) for six international trips, incurring no additional expense. Modi went to Nepal, Bangladesh, Iran and Singapore in the IAF’s Boeing 737 business jet that is used round the year exclusively for VVIP travel.


Prices of cardiac stents and knee implants reduced by 50 to 70%”

Keeping the Independence Day promise of PM Narendra Modi to take measurable steps to harness healthcare costs, the government has announced to curb the price of knee implants in the country. With private hospitals reportedly indulging in unethical profiteering by charging unreasonable and extravagant rates and doing, the government has taken a decision to cap the retail price of knee implants. Under a special provision in the drug pricing law that allows the government to intervene in extraordinary circumstances in public interest, nearly 70 percent cost is slashed down keeping the knee implants in the range from Rs 54,000 to Rs 1.14 lakh which is lower than the current knee implant cost surgeries. Every year around 3 crore patients undergo knee implants surgery and with this move, over 3 crores arthritis patients in the country are expected to be benefitted with the estimated saving of 1500 crore annually. In February also, the government has taken steps to rein in the cost of coronary stents by slashing their maximum price by up to 85 per cent. This decision does not surface as a surprise as the NPPA had already released analytic data showing unethical trade margin on orthopedic knee implants. Earlier this month, in the analysis of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, it was found that manufacturers, distributors, and hospitals are illegally profiting up to 450% trade margins on these widely used knee implants. Against an earlier exorbitant MRP of Rs 1,58,324, now the knee implants surgery involving cobalt chromium will cost Rs 54,720. Similarly, knee implant cost involving special metals like oxidized zirconium and titanium have seen the decline of 70%, to 76,600 from Rs 2.49 lakh.


A young Dalit man named Lakhan’s head was shaved, and he was assaulted by a mob in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut

According to the news reports, the incident did happen in Meerut. Some people in the Brahmpuri area assaulted a man named Lakhan Kumar. The police clarified that the assaulters and Lakhan both belong to the Dalit community and related to each other. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.


A circular in the name of AICTE talks about scrapping the 75% attendance rule for the engineering course.

This will come into effect from N Scheme onwards i.e. from the academic year 2020-2021. [...] A candidate will be declared to have passed in First Class with Superlative Distinction if he/she secures not less than 75% of the marks in all the subjects and passes all the semesters in the first appearance itself and passes all subjects within the stipulated period of study 2 / 3/ 3½/ 4 years [Full time(lateral entry)/Full Time/Sandwich/Part Time] without any break in study. [...] A candidate will be declared to have passed in First Class with Distinction if he/she secures not less than 75% of the aggregate marks in all the semesters put together and passes all the semesters except the I and II semester in the first appearance itself and passes all subjects within the stipulated period of study 2 / 3/ 3½/ 4 years [Full time(lateral entry)/Full Time/Sandwich/Part Time] without any break in study.


The song “Mere Angane Mein” was originally from a 19th-century movie called ‘Miss Sheela’ (1883)

An audio recording of the hit Hindi song 'Mere Angne Mein' is being widely shared on social media, claiming that it was first recorded in 1883 by one Miss Sheela. [...] What about 'Mere Angne Mein'?: We came across a blog post which mentioned that the song 'Mere Angne Mein' was actually a folk song from Uttar Pradesh.


Acid attack victims have been included in the list of people considered as disabled.

In an infographic published by the government, certain claims were made regarding provisions of the ‘Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act’. Here is a fact check of those claims.


Concept design of car safety belt in 1960s that goes around the neck

Although we were unable to find the source of this photograph, which is captioned "A concept design for car safety belts from the 1960s," the concept appears to have been inspired by a scene in the 2008 film "The Onion Movie": According to the consumer advocacy group Center for Auto Safety, seat belts started their evolution as lap belts. In 1958, a Swedish engineer for Volvo invented the three-point restraint, namely a seat belt that included a lap belt and diagonal shoulder restraint. We found no evidence of any such design as the one shown above for neck belts — and for obvious reasons it would be an extraordinarily bad idea. The neck belt meme reminded some who commented on social media posts of a thought experiment called Tullock's Spike, an idea thought up by economist Gordon Tullock, who posed the question: Do people engage in riskier behavior as cars get safer over time? If so, Tullock wondered, would putting a spike in the middle of the steering wheel convince people to drive more safely, counterintuitively saving more lives by preventing more traffic collisions?


Financial security of senior citizens with PM Vaya Vandana Yojana, gives 8% interest for 10 years. Investment limit doubled to 15 lakh rupees and scheme extended till 2020.

"The scheme has two USPs. One is the return of 8% p.a. which is a very good rate of interest when you look at fixed deposits fetching not more than 7% p.a. One more advantage is that the rate of return will remain 8% for the next 10 years, which is definitely a boon for senior citizens. It will ensure a smooth and consistent cash flow for them. Given the inflation rate of 4-5% p.a., the guaranteed pension at 8% p.a. is going to be so relieving," says Atul Surana, Certified Financial Planner, Catalyst Financial Planning. [...] "This scheme can be compared to other limited years schemes such as Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) or Post Office MIS. The interest rates offered in SCSS also stands today at 8.4% which is locked till maturity once you invest. This is higher than the announced scheme. Also, in SCSS you can invest up to Rs 15 lakh, but here you can invest only up to Rs 7.5 lakh. When I look at both these features, then I stand to gain in SCSS. However, guaranteed schemes always attract us and a guaranteed for 10 years will attract people. Although PMVVY will provide a fixed income for 10 years, it does not factor in inflation which is a dampener. In my view, it’s the assured return which is attracting investors, but there are more lucrative options available in the market where one stands to benefit more," says Jitendra P.S. Solanki, CFP & Planner for Special Needs Member Families.


World’s biggest Anaconda snake which is 134 feet long and 2067 Kgs weight.

An image is being shared widely on Facebook with the claim ‘World’s biggest snake Anaconda found in Africa’s Amazon river. It has killed 257 humans & 2325 animals. Africa’s Royal British Commandos took 37 days to get it killed’. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post. [...] Claim: Photo of the World’s biggest ‘Anaconda’ snake which is 134 feet long and 2067 Kgs weight. [...] And as per the National Geographic Channel, the ‘Green Anaconda’ is the largest snake in the world with length up to 30 feet and weigh up to 250 kgs. But the dimensions of the anaconda given in the post are much higher than any of these figures.


Disinvestment crossed target of 72,500 crore rupees.

Re-structured National Bamboo Mission gets R5.l290crore Loans to Women Self Help Groups will increase to Rs. 75,000 crore in 2019 from 42,500 crore last year. [...] Disinvestment crossed target of Rs 72,500 crore to reach Rs 1,00,000 crore. [...] Rs. 75,000 crore rupees will be provided as loans to Women Self Help Groups till March, 2019.


In an open letter written by Dr. Devi Shetty, he called on people to gather at the Governor’s residence of each state with a petition to oppose the recently proposed health care service tax which he labels as a ‘Misery tax’

A social media post containing an open letter allegedly written by Dr. Devi Shetty opposing a proposed 5% service tax on healthcare in the recent budget is being shared on social media. This letter also calls out to people to assemble at the Governor’s house of each state at 11 am on 12 March with a petition to roll back the tax. Let’s know the details behind this letter in this fact-checking article. [...] We performed a reverse image search on the image to learn more details about the letter. This search led us to two blog posts (here and here) from March 2011, which contained the same letter. One of those two posts mentions that Dr. Devi Shetty issued this open letter to the people of India urging them to ‘observe 12th March 2011 as ‘Misery Day’. The letter also opposed the Union Government’s proposal to impose an additional 5 per cent service tax on healthcare provided by the private hospitals. He called this new proposed tax as ‘Misery Tax’. We then looked for relevant news articles regarding this and found the related information. Reportedly, in 2011, the then Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee proposed to levy a service tax of 5% on the healthcare services provided by hospitals with 25 or more beds with central air conditioning facilities. This proposal received a negative response from the healthcare industry. Opposing this Service Tax, Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, chairman of Narayana Hrudayalaya, wrote an open letter (here and here) calling it a ‘Misery tax‘.


More than 6 lakh high risk pregnancies identified.

New Delhi: More than 550,000 women were found to be going through high-risk pregnancies during screening between June 2016 to December 2017 under a government scheme for protection of pregnant women. [...] "Women identified as high-risk pregnancy were referred to a specialist or a higher health facility for appropriate care. Identifying high-risk pregnancies is the first step towards saving mothers and infants from preventable deaths," said J.P. Nadda, Union minister of health and family welfare, in New Delhi on Friday. [...] To enable early detection of high-risk pregnancies, 8.4 million haemoglobin tests, 5.5 million HIV tests, 4.1 million tests for gestational diabetes, 3.3 million tests for syphilis and more than 1.5 million ultrasound examinations were conducted under the programme. The government is also providing free of cost management of any existing clinical condition such as anaemia, pregnancy-induced hypertension and gestational diabetes under the programme.


1000 scholarships per annum are available

More than 1000 fully funded scholarships are available at world top universities for international students. These scholarships provide average monthly stipend of $1000 along with tuition fees, accommodation charges, health insurance and travel allowance. [...] Imperial Collage London PhD Scholarship is a fully funded scholarship for international students. Up to 10 fully-funded scholarships are awarded each year. This scholarship covers both tuition fees and an annual tax-free contribution to maintenance costs of £16,553. [...] Melbourne Research Scholarship (MRS) is a fully funded scholarship for international students. Approximately 600 scholarships are available for Masters and doctoral research studies. This scholarship offers living allowance of $31,200 per year, Full fee offset, Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) Single Membership, Relocation grant and many other benefits.


Agro based and thematic clusters for skilled manpower and economic opportunities are being identified

One of the most promising strategies is the cluster-based development approach. Clusters are defined as "groups of industries closely related by skill, technology, supply, demand and/or other linkages" (Delgado, Porter, and Stern 2016). A cluster-based development approach involves collaborative actions by groups of companies, governments, and other related institutions to improve the competitiveness of a group of interlinked economic activities in a specific geographic region (Ketels and Memedovic 2008). Sonobe and Otsuka’s (2006) empirical study of cluster-based industrial development in developing countries suggests that a cluster can be an effective institution for HVP value chain development as well. Indeed, Gálvez-Nogales (2010) finds numerous successful agro-based clusters in many countries. As an illustration, Figure 1 shows the structure of an agro-based cluster. In the cluster, farmers are entrepreneurs who see their farms as businesses. They are not just farming but operating complicated businesses, employing workers, coordinating the division of labor among teams, and collaborating with outsiders. In other words, entrepreneurial farmers are skillful at not only producing but also grading, marketing, branding, and management.


The share of GDP allocated for education (primary, secondary and tertiary) saw an increase from 3.29 per cent in 2004-2005 to 3.83 per cent in 2012-13.

The Congress party has made a series of claims about the budget allocation & expenditure on education and health during the UPA. The following article is a fact check of the claims made on the Congress website.


Former President Donald Trump "intends to enact what, in effect, is a national sales tax ... that would raise prices on middle-class families by almost $4,000 a year."

Harris said Trump "intends to enact what in effect is a national sales tax -call it a Trump tax - that would raise prices on middle class families by almost $4,000 a year." Trump has said that he would propose a 10% tariff on all non-domestic goods sold in the U.S. While tariffs are levied separately from taxes, economists say that much of their impact would be passed along to consumers, making them analogous to a tax. [...] The American Action Forum, a center-right think tank, has projected additional costs per household of $1,700 to $2,350 annually. The Peterson Institute of International Economics, another Washington, D.C.-based think tank, projected that such tariffs would cost a middle-income household about $1,700 extra each year.


“Candace Owens vows to have Taylor Swift banned from next NFL season.”

Satirical story about Candace Owens trying to ban Taylor Swift from the NFL spreads without context [...] Conservative commentator Candace Owens has been critical of singer Taylor Swift, but claims she’s trying to bar Swift from the NFL originated on fake news pages. "BREAKING: Candace Owens vows to have Taylor Swift banned from the next NFL season, ‘she’s awfully woke,’" a June 18 Facebook post said.


“There is a direct connection between discriminatory policies within the USDA and the enormous land loss we have seen among Black farmers over the past century."

Black farmers who are struggling to retain their land despite racial discrimination and little assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), could find relief in a measure called The Justice for Farmers Act. [...] "When it comes to farming and agriculture, we know that there is a direct connection between discriminatory policies within the USDA and the enormous land loss we have seen among Black farmers over the past century," wrote the Act’s sponsor Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) in a news release. "The Justice for Black Farmers Act will work to correct this historic injustice by addressing and correcting USDA discrimination and taking bold steps to restore the land that has been lost in order to empower a new generation of Black farmers to succeed." [...] The USDA has a long history of racism against Black farmers. A June 2019 report published in The Counter, an online investigative newsroom focused on food issues, documents how the USDA seized land from Black farmers. In the past, a common USDA practice was to foreclose on farms owned by Black people who had filed discrimination complaints against the agency. The Counter details how the USDA would ignore complaints then, allow them to sit unanswered until the statutes of limitations ran out.


"In the Wisconsin State Assembly this session, more than 75% of GOP bills received a public hearing. Meanwhile, the GOP allowed less than 2% of Democratic bills to have a hearing."

Since becoming the minority party in the Assembly in 2011, the percentage of Democratic-authored bills that received a public hearing declined from 15.6% to 1.9% in the 2021-22 legislative session. Republicans, when in the minority, saw 39% of their bills receive public hearings in the 2009-10 legislative session. More than 70% of their bills have received hearings since taking over in the 2011-12 session.


“Caitlin Clark rejects $400 million deal from Nike” saying “not with that Kaepernick clown.’”

Clark's new Nike deal is reported to be worth $28 million over eight years, per the Wall Street Journal. She chose the Swoosh over Adidas and Stephen Curry's "Curry Brand" with Under Armour, according to Charania. Clark's Nike deal guarantees that she will receive a signature shoe with the brand. Among other Nike athletes with their own signature shoe are Sabrina Ionescu, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Ja Morant, and Devin Booker. [...] Caitlin Clark NIL deals


California Assembly Bill 1955 “would allow schools to secretly, socially and perhaps medically transition your child without your knowledge and consent."

Bill Text: CA AB1955 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended [...] Status: (Passed) 2024-07-15 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 95, Statutes of 2024. [AB1955 Detail] [...] (a) A school district, county office of education, charter school, state special school for the blind or the deaf, or a member of the governing board of a school district or county office of education or a member of the governing body of a charter school, shall not enact or enforce any policy, rule, or administrative regulation that would require an employee or a contractor to disclose any information related to a pupil’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to any other person without the pupil’s consent, unless otherwise required by state or federal law.(a)The department shall encourage and assist local educational agencies to improve and monitor the health of their pupils. The department shall provide guidance and assist local educational agencies to secure the voluntary assistance of local health professionals, schools of medicine, schools of public health, schools of nursing, voluntary health agencies, and other appropriate entities to provide pupil health screening and appropriate medical referrals and to provide valuable health information to pupils and their parents.


“Caitlin Clark has officially joined the Canadian women's Olympic team.”

Caitlin Clark's Olympics snub took a major turn, and there is evidence she could join the team after all. Originally, there was a cavalcade of backlash when it was announced Clark would not be going to the Olympics to play for Team USA women's basketball. "Leaving Caitlin Clark off the women's Olympic team is the dumbest s*** I've ever heard," Dave Portnoy wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on June 8 alongside a fiery video message. All that blustering outrage could prove to be for naught, as a key member of the Olympic team could be stepping aside to make way for Clark. [...] One reason that Caitlin Clark was an appealing alternate for the women's basketball team at the Olympics was how she handled being excluded from the roster. People wondered how Clark would react after being left off, but the highly-touted rookie took the news in stride. "I know it's the most competitive team in the world and I know it could've gone either way of me being on the team," she told reporters on June 9, per NBC News. In fact, Clark was not shocked to not make the team. "Honestly, no disappointment," she told the press about not being named an Olympian. The Indiana Fever star was not only fine with not making Team USA, but showed support for the women who were going to the Olympics. "I'm gonna be rooting them on to win gold," Clark added.


The Trump administration “achieved the lowest African American unemployment rate and the lowest African American poverty rate ever recorded.”

Republican Sen. Tim Scott has claimed that African Americans, Hispanics and Asians all had their lowest unemployment rate under former President Donald Trump. But the lowest unemployment rate on record for African Americans was under President Joe Biden, and the lowest unemployment rate for Hispanics was the same under both presidents. [...] "We were just better off under President Trump," began Scott, who is considered to be a potential vice presidential running mate for Trump. "Inflation, Kristen, was at 2%, and we had the lowest unemployment rates for African Americans, for Hispanics, for Asians, a 70-year low for women." [...] Under Trump, the unemployment rate for African Americans went down to 5.3% in August 2019 – at that time, the lowest rate on record, according to BLS data going back to 1972. When Trump left office in January 2021, amid the pandemic, the rate was 9.3%.


Crime statistics “no longer include data from 30% of the country including the biggest and most violent cities.”

Tracking crime statistics – and more importantly, whether or not crime is rising or falling in the United States – is getting harder to do. That’s because nearly a third of America’s cities are no longer reporting crime statistics to the FBI. This is more than just a problem for policymakers looking for data to address the cities most in need of assistance. It also means that some policymakers are demanding bad policy because they’re relying on incomplete data. The Marshall Project reported that 31 percent of the 18,000 law enforcement agencies across the U.S. failed to report crime data to the FBI’s national database after transitioning to a new data collection system, according to the latest statistics from the FBI. That’s a slight improvement from 2021, when 40 percent of law enforcement agencies didn’t report crime data. Still, it’s a glaring blind spot, especially when that data is missing from some of the largest metro areas dealing with rampant, out-of-control crime.


The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals “just ruled Covid vax mandates unconstitutional.”

"The ranks of the conspiracy theorists now include the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which just ruled Covid vax mandates unconstitutional because the vaccine does not stop transmission," Kennedy wrote in a June 12 Facebook post. "I dunno, maybe it’s the brain worm, but I seem to remember the experts and authorities telling us otherwise." [...] The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on June 7 ruled only that the lawsuit filed against the Los Angeles Unified School District could move forward. It overturned a lower court decision to dismiss the lawsuit, which was brought by the nonprofit Health Freedom Defense Fund, which advocates against vaccine mandates, and employees who opposed the district’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate. [...] The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 to vacate a lower court’s dismissal of the vaccine mandate lawsuit; it did not rule on whether a vaccine mandate is constitutional.


"Apple is … about to start charging us to use the FaceTime feature.”

When you enable FaceTime it sends an SMS to an Apple server in the UK to activate the service. Normally carriers that support the iPhone do not charge for this SMS. However, your carrier may not participate, in which case using FaceTime can get to be expensive, because it periodically updates that server with a new SMS. FaceTime is a free service from Apple. It requires an internet data connection, either wifi or cellular. If the data connection is free, there are no charges at all. If a carrier or wifi provider charges you to use their data connection, then charges will apply (to the internet connection provider, not to Apple). The same thing applies for Apple's free iMessage service. [...] This has nothing to do with whether FaceTime uses data over cellular or WiFi. This refers to the activation process when you enable FaceTime. The message means that enabling FaceTime will involve an SMS - actually an International SMS - to activate the service in Apple's servers, and this specific carrier may charge for that International SMS. As it's international, it will be expensive - probably 50 cents per message or more. And this charge will appear every few days as FaceTime reactivates with Apple's servers.


Pittsburgh Steelers coach “directs team to not participate in pride month” calling it "woke crap"

The story originated on a satire site. A Pittsburgh Steelers spokesperson confirmed that coach Mike Tomlin did not make such statements. A social media page associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers posted an image showing team staff gathered after participating in a pride parade. As of June 13, we saw no other messages from the team regarding about Pride Month.


"Trump can’t be on the Texas ballot because of our state constitution."

Supreme Court rules states cannot remove Trump from ballot for insurrection on Mar 4, 2024 at 12:09 pm The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that states cannot disqualify former President Donald Trump from the ballot for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol. In an unsigned opinion, a majority of the justices held that only Congress – and not the states – can enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which was enacted in the wake of the Civil War to disqualify individuals from holding office who had previously served in the federal or state government before the war but then supported the Confederacy, against candidates for federal offices. [...] The dispute leading to Monday’s opinion began last year in a state court in Colorado. A group of voters in that state argued that Trump was ineligible to appear on the ballot under Section 3, which provides (as relevant here) that no one "shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State," if that person had previously sworn, "as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States," to support the Constitution but then "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the federal government.


Fuddruckers closes all Orlando restaurants, without reason ORLANDO, Fla. - Fuddruckers announced the closing of all of its Orlando locations on Monday. [...] After a great deal of careful consideration, we are definitely closing our restaurants. It was a very difficult decision, but ultimately necessary.


"The last administration oversaw the largest increase in murders ever recorded."

The number of murders in the U.S. rose by 5,795 from 2019 to 2020, when Donald Trump was president. That’s the largest one-year increase since such data began being systematically recorded in the early 1960s. Crime data analysts generally attribute most of the reason for the murder spike to a complex confluence of the coronavirus pandemic and the social upheaval after George Floyd’s murder, not Trump’s actions.


Kansas City Chiefs said they refuse to participate in Pride Month because ‘it’s extremely woke.’

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker railed against Pride month, working women, President Biden's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and abortion during a commencement address at Benedictine College last weekend.


HarperCollins “removed 64,575 words from the Bible.”

Since 1978, the New International Version of the Bible has been revised twice, most recently in 2011, "reflecting new archaeological findings, current biblical scholarship and changes to the English language," according to HarperCollins, which owns the Bible’s publisher Zondervan. Some passages and verses were relocated to footnotes in the New International Version to better reflect older and more reliable biblical manuscripts, the publisher said.


Says Sen. Lindsey Graham said a newly elected Donald Trump “will round up and deport LEGAL immigrants.”

President Trump has directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to conduct a mass roundup of migrant families that have received deportation orders, an operation that is likely to begin with predawn raids in major U.S. cities on Sunday, according to three U.S. officials with knowledge of the plans. [...] Large-scale immigration enforcement operations are typically kept secret to avoid tipping off targets, but Trump’s tweet Monday blew the cover off the roundup. That the operation was revealed publicly stunned law enforcement officials, and they believe it gave them more latitude to discuss the raids. [...] The expedited family court docket, or "rocket docket," was developed by Trump officials late last year in an effort to deport more migrant families with the belief that a highly visible roundup operation could have a deterrent effect on others in Central America considering the journey.


Audio of President Joe Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur leaked.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has asserted executive privilege over audio recordings of his interview with special counsel Robert Hur, the Republican federal prosecutor who declined to recommend charges against him over his handling of classified documents. [...] John Fishwick, who was a U.S. attorney in the Obama administration, told NBC News that the Justice Department "should not stand on a flimsy executive privilege argument to stall the release of President Biden’s audio interviews with special counsel Hur" and that Biden and the Justice Department "should promote full transparency of the Hur investigation and release the audio recordings now." [...] "President Biden is apparently afraid for the citizens of this country and everyone to hear those tapes," Johnson said. "They obviously confirm what the special counsel has found and would likely cause, I suppose, in his estimation, such alarm with the American people that the president is using all of his power to suppress their release."


“Wage increases have exceeded” the cost of inflation.

Average wages have surpassed inflation for 12 straight months Average hourly wage growth has exceeded inflation for 12 straight months, according to new Bureau of Labor Statistics data released this morning. This real (or inflation-adjusted) wage growth is a key indicator of how well the average worker’s wage can improve their standard of living. As inflation continues to normalize, I’m optimistic more workers will experience real gains in their purchasing power. [...] While nominal wage growth is an important indicator for Fed policymakers to measure signs of labor market slack and inflationary pressures (and these remain relatively muted), real wage growth is what matters for workers’ living standards. On average, the data are clear: wages have been beating inflation for 12 months now.


“James Woods leaves Hollywood to join Mel Gibson’s new non-woke film studio.”

Veteran actor James Woods has officially left Hollywood to join Mel Gibson’s newly established non-woke film studio. This partnership marks a significant shift for Woods, who has long been a polarizing figure due to his outspoken conservative beliefs in a predominantly liberal industry. [...] The reaction to Woods’ move has been mixed. While many conservative voices have lauded his decision as a brave stand against Hollywood conformity, others in the industry warn that this split could deepen the cultural divisions within the arts community. Critics of the non-woke studio concept argue that it might limit the diversity of perspectives that film can offer by favoring certain viewpoints. [...] In conclusion, James Woods’ departure from Hollywood to join Mel Gibson’s non-woke film studio is more than just a career pivot—it’s a cultural statement. It represents a burgeoning movement within the film industry seeking to reclaim what its proponents feel is a lost emphasis on artistic freedom over political correctness. Only time will tell how this bold move will impact Woods’ career and the broader cinematic landscape.


Wendy Rittenhouse is the mother of the Antioch, Illinois, teenager, Kyle Rittenhouse, who is on trial for the shooting deaths of two men in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and the wounding of a third. A single mother who has worked as a nurse’s assistant, Rittenhouse’s mom has defended him in interviews. She was controversially at his side when he was photographed with members of the Proud Boys organization in a Wisconsin bar, but his attorneys say he is not affiliated with that group. As such, Wendy Rittenhouse has emerged as a controversial figure who has repeatedly given interviews to advance her son’s defense. [...] Rittenhouse’s mother’s Facebook page indicated she works in health care and is a law enforcement supporter. Her name is sometimes given as Wendy Lewis but was given in court as Wendy Rittenhouse. The Washington Post described her as a single mom and nurse’s assistant.


Donald Trump wants to terminate the Affordable Care Act.

More than 21 million people have signed up for health plans through the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces, the Biden administration announced Wednesday. The record level of enrollment comes as former president Donald Trump, seeking the GOP nomination, is again vowing to repeal the program if elected. [...] "I don’t want to terminate Obamacare, I want to REPLACE IT with MUCH BETTER HEALTHCARE. Obamacare Sucks!!!" Trump wrote in a November 2023 post on Truth Social, his social media platform. Trump — who has spent the past decade pledging to repeal and replace the ACA — has yet to produce a health plan that would provide comparable health coverage at the same or less cost, analysts have said. [...] "At a time when more Americans are enrolling in the ACA than ever before, it is outlandish that the likely GOP nominee is even considering another attempt at repeal," Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, a Democratic-aligned health-care advocacy group, said in a statement.


“Walmart has announced starting June 3rd all locations in the U.S. will go back to 24hrs.”

Social media was swirling like crazy that all Walmart stores would return to open 24 hours beginning in June. [...] *"Walmart has announced started June 3rd all locations in the U.S. Will go back to 24hrs," one post states. *"Walmart just announced that on June 3rd all stores nationwide will be open 24 hours a day," another posts states.


When Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Ukraine recently "he announced that they were going to suspend elections in Ukraine."

Blinken visits Ukraine as Russia’s military closes in Kyiv | US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday in an unannounced diplomatic mission to reassure Ukraine that it has American support as it struggles to defend against increasingly intense Russian attacks. The visit comes less than a month after Congress approved a long-delayed foreign assistance package that sets aside $US60 billion ($90 billion) in aid for Ukraine, much of which will go towards replenishing badly depleted artillery and air defence systems.


“Violent crime is near a record 50-year low.”

"Claiming that Florida is unsafe is a total farce," DeSantis said in the announcement. "I mean, are you kidding me? You look at cities around this country, they are awash in crime. In Florida, our crime rate is at a 50-year low." But his statement rests on patchy, incomplete crime data. About half of the agencies that police more than 40% of the state’s population are missing from figures the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) used for a state-wide estimation. [...] Putting the crime data quality issue aside, DeSantis’ claims about Florida’s declining crime rates follow long-term national trends, and should not be a surprise to the public, according to Asher. "‘Crime is at a 50-year low’ should sort of be ‘no duh,’" he said. "Crime is falling. It's not that big of a deal." Both property crime and violent crimes have been on the decline nationally, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey, a Justice Department program that surveys 150,000 households about crimes that happened to them.


“Elon Musk Fires Entire Cast of “The View ” After Acquiring ABC.”

No, Elon Musk hasn't acquired ABC and fired the cast of ‘The View’ [...] "Elon Musk Fires Entire Cast of ‘The View’ After Acquiring ABC," it read. [...] Snopes, Elon Musk Fired 'The View' Cast After Acquiring ABC? April 25, 2024


“U.S. Olympic committee says Lia Thomas is welcome to try out for the men’s team.”

On Oct. 21, 2023, SpaceXMania published an article claiming that former NCAA swimmer Lia Thomas had decided to swim with a men's team after facing "extreme criticism." Thomas, a transgender woman, become the first known trans athlete to win a Division I national championship in any sport in March 2022. [...] Breaking: Lia Thomas to Swim With A Men’s Team After Extreme Criticism In a move that has sent shockwaves through the world of competitive swimming, Lia Thomas has reportedly decided to join a men’s swim team after enduring relentless criticism surrounding her participation in women’s events. This decision is emblematic of the broader challenges and controversies that transgender athletes face and further intensifies the debate on gender, biology, and fairness in sports.


“Dr. Sebi’s daughter was sentenced to 155 years in prison for revealing top secret health hacks.”

The claim: Dr. Sebi’s daughter was sentenced to 155 years in prison for spreading secret health tips [...] "Dr. Sebi’s daughter was SENTENCED to 155 years in prison for revealing TOP SECRET health hacks," reads text on top of the image. [...] There is no credible evidence that the daughter of controversial alternative medicine promoter Dr. Sebi was sentenced to prison for sharing health practices. The image used in the claim is likely AI-generated, experts said.