Fake news is being widely circulated on social media regarding the daughter of Samajwadi Party President and former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, with highly objectionable remarks being made about her. Meanwhile, a statement attributed to Congress MP Imran Masood is also being shared, in which he is allegedly taking a jibe at Akhilesh Yadav.
The viral postcard carrying Imran Masood’s alleged statement reads: “Our Babasaheb gave all adult girls in the country the right to choose a boy of their choice and marry him. Now, it is the girls’ choice whether they marry a Nigerian or a Pakistani.” While sharing this postcard, a user named Mr. Tyagi wrote, “Such a jibe should not have been taken at Akhilesh Bhaiya. A daughter is a daughter, no matter whose she is.” (English Translation)
In a reply to the same post, a person named Triloki Nath Chaudhary (Modi Ka Parivar), while sharing the postcard attributed to Imran Masood, wrote, “No matter what the conversation is about, the focus of jihadi thinking always remains on love jihad.”(English Translation)
Fact Check:
During its investigation, the DFRAC team found that Imran Masood did not make any such statement regarding Akhilesh Yadav’s daughter. A fake statement has been falsely attributed to him and is being circulated on social media.During the investigation, we found that the viral postcard carried the logo of Navbharat Times (NBT). We then examined NBT’s social media handles and found that a postcard featuring Imran Masood had indeed been published recently, but it contained a statement related to Rahul Gandhi. Apart from this, we found no statement by Imran Masood concerning Akhilesh Yadav or his daughter.
For further verification, we contacted Imran Masood. He categorically termed the viral statement fake. He told DFRAC that he respects daughters, has a daughter of his own, and could never make such an indecent comment about Akhilesh Yadav’s daughter or anyone else’s daughter. He added that he considers Akhilesh Yadav’s daughter as his own daughter.
Conclusion:
DFRAC’s fact check clearly establishes that the viral claim is completely false. Imran Masood did not make any derogatory or indecent remarks about Akhilesh Yadav’s daughter. Furthermore, Navbharat Times (NBT) did not publish any postcard carrying the fake statement attributed to him.
