In the run-up to the Maharashtra assembly elections, social media is rife with allegations that the Waqf Board has laid claim on the Shree Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai. BJP MLA Nitesh Rane shared a graphic in Marathi on his Instagram profile which said, “The Waqf board also claims Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai” and mentioned in the caption: “This is why one should say no to UBT and Congress.”
The graphic shared by the BJP leader carried a logo on the top right corner which said ‘Sakal’.
Click to view slideshow.The earliest tweet claiming that the Siddhivinayak Temple has been claimed by the Waqf board made on November 18, also carried the same graphic as above, with Sakal News’ logo. (Archive)
Mumbai’s Siddhivinayak Temple also claimed under Waqf.
MVA has accepted all demands of the Ulema Board.
Dear Hindus,
Aap chronology samajh lijiye!
Batenge toh Katenge.
Ek hai toh Safe hai.
Mahayuti is the only option. pic.twitter.com/YqtK8Ggg9K
— सनातनी Rinki
(@rynkee) November 18, 2024
Another graphic, stating the same, and carrying Kreately Media’s watermark, has been more widely shared by right-wing influencers. Kreately Media posted the viral graphic as ‘Breaking News’. The tweet garnered over 300,000 views. (Archive)
Sharing the above image, Right Wing influencer @MrSinha_ said, “…They’re getting out of hand. They need to be stopped…” (Archive) In another tweet, he urged the BJP to aggressively push the agenda of the ‘ Waqf board’s claim on Siddhivinayak Temple’. (Archive)
Click to view slideshow.Journalist Abhijit Majumder also shared the viral graphic. (Archive)
Several others. including lawyer Shashank Shekhar Jha, amplified the viral claim on Twitter. (Archives- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Click to view slideshow.Fact Check
Addressing the viral posts that carried Sakal News’ logo, Sakal posted on their official Facebook page that the outlet has published no such graphic. The caption of the post in Marathi could be translated as: “Currently, a misleading creative titled “Waqf Board’s claim over Mumbai’s Siddhivinayak Temple” is going viral on social media, allegedly under the name of ‘Sakal’. However, Sakal has not created any such creative. Some individuals have used a template and logo similar to Sakal’s creative style to make this mischief.”
#fakenewsalert : सध्या सोशल मीडियावर ‘मुंबईतील सिद्धिविनायक मंदिरावरही वक्फ बोर्डचा दावा’ नावाने एक दिशाभूल करणारे…
Posted by Sakal on Monday 18 November 2024
We also found a detailed fact-check report by Sakal wherein they clarified that the viral post, which includes Sakal’s logo, alleging that the Waqf Board had claimed the Siddhivinayak Temple was false and had not been published by the outlet. Sakal News underlined some discrepancies in the viral image-
1. Discrepancies in the logo design: Official Sakal posts follow a specific format, such as the text is left-aligned text and usage of full-frame images, whereas the viral post used centre-aligned text and inconsistent fonts.
2. Additionally, the graphic was not posted on any of Sakal’s verified social media accounts. The Social Media Team lead confirmed that all official posts are catalogued, and this graphic was not among them and this was an unauthorised use of their logo.
‘मुंबई का सिद्धिविनायक मंदिर बचाना है तो भाजप महायुती को मतदान करे’ असा दावा करत विविध समाज माध्यमांवर ‘सकाळ’ चा लोगो असणारे सोशल मीडिया कार्ड फिरत आहे#sakalfactcheck #siddhivinayakmandir #waqfboard #sakalmedia #sakalnews #Shakticollective2024 #TeamShaktihttps://t.co/4JSifsEwGS
— SakalMedia (@SakalMediaNews) November 19, 2024
In response to the viral claims, treasurer of the Siddhivinayak Temple and Vice President of the Bharaitya Janata Party Mumbai, Pawan Tripathi dismissed the viral claims in a video statement. “Shree Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai is a symbol of pride and honour. It holds immense reverence among all Sanatanis living across the world. Therefore, no board or organization will ever be able to take over Shree Siddhivinayak Temple. It belongs to the devotees of Lord Ganesh and will always remain for them”, he is heard saying.
Alt News also reached out to the Mumbai District Waqf Officer, who stated that, to the best of his knowledge, no such incident had occurred. We also found no news reports, local or otherwise, regarding this incident.
After the claim went viral, several politicians, including Rajya Sabha MP and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi, along with Yuva Sena President Aaditya Thackeray, strongly criticized those spreading this misinformation. Thackeray tweeted, “Don’t play with our sentiments and emotions in Maharashtra for your votes,” while Chaturvedi called for police action against the individuals propagating the false claims.
Click to view slideshow.We also came across a report by the RSS mouthpiece Organiser, which debunks the misleading claim. However, it falsely states that it was the Waqf Board which claimed that the temple had been taken under Waqf property.
Hence, Alt News found that the viral claiming stating that the Waqf Board had claimed the revered Shree Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai is misleading. Both the temple’s treasurer and a Waqf Board representative has dismissed such claims
The post Manufactured image used to claim that Waqf board laid claim on Siddhivinayak Temple appeared first on Alt News.
This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Shinjinee Majumder.
Shinjinee Majumder | Radio Free (2024-11-19T17:27:34+00:00) Manufactured image used to claim that Waqf board laid claim on Siddhivinayak Temple. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2024/11/19/manufactured-image-used-to-claim-that-waqf-board-laid-claim-on-siddhivinayak-temple/
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