Aayushi Rana 
Leading up to the crucial seventh and final phase of voting on June 1 in the ongoing Indian general election, numerous social media posts circulated a photo allegedly displaying forecasts from multiple Satta Bazaars (betting markets) across India for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Viral image features a logo resembling that of News24, suggesting that the poll has been released by them.
The image contains forecasts from renowned betting markets like Phalodi Satta Bazar in Rajasthan, Belgaum Satta Bazar in Karnataka, and Kolkata Satta Bazar in West Bengal. According to this depiction, the majority of these betting markets anticipate over 200 seats for the INDIA bloc, hinting at a near majority for the Congress-led alliance. Meanwhile, they project approximately 250-260 seats for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), falling short of the critical majority threshold of 272.
Several other social media users shared the graphic which you see here, here and here, claiming Interesting times ahead of Indian Elections.
Fact Check
We first, did a Google search using relevant keywords but found no such report published on the News24 website. Additionally, there were no such posts on the channel’s social media accounts.
Furthermore, News24 anchor Manak Gupta posted a clarification on X, denying that the organization had published such a report. He wrote, “FAKE ALERT: This fake news is being made viral in our name. News24 has not published any such story. Be careful”.
In addition to this, we closely inspected the logo of the Viral Image. During the process, we observed, that the logo used in the template says “NEWS 2024 THINK FIRST”. The original logo reads “NEWS 24 THINK FIRST,” thus indicating the graphic is fake.
Several news articles have covered the forecasts made by Satta Bazaars for the Lok Sabha elections. According to a report from India Today dated May 29, 2024, the betting market predicts a comfortable victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. However, the report also notes that despite expectations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi securing a third term, the market does not support the BJP’s ‘400 paar’ claim.
The Economic Times also covered forecasts made by the Phalodi betting market, which projected a majority for the BJP in the Lok Sabha election results.
Note: It’s crucial to emphasize that these reports are not grounded in official data. They come with disclaimers urging readers to steer clear of betting markets, which are illegal unless sanctioned by state-specific regulations.
Conclusion
Thus from the Fact Check, it is clear that the viral graphic is Fake. News24 has not released any such article regarding betting market forecasts, and the logo depicted in the viral image differs from the original logo of the news portal.
Nisar Ahmed Siddiqui 