Mumbai: At a time Kerala is grappling with a crisis of alarming proportions, certain right wing outfits have been churning out ‘fake news’ to undermine the huge relief effort that is underway. ‘Incidentally, one such ‘fake news’ was noticed on the official Facebook page of the RSS, wherein on August 11, an old image of Sewa Bharati workers was posted, showing them engaged in current flood relief work.
The AltNews was the first to expose the fraud. AltNews reported, “In August 2012, flash floods triggered by heavy rains in Kozhikode and Kannur districts in north Kerala took the lives of nine people. An image of this event was shared recently and it was implied that RSS workers are providing succour to the victims during the current floods.” Immediately after this, with more aid pouring into Kerala, a two-minute audio clip of Suresh Kochattil, a social media member of the BJP IT cell, has been doing the rounds.
Kochattil, has roots in Kerala but is settled in Hyderabad. He claims to have been stuck in Kochi due to the floods and could not travel as the trains and roads were shut. According to his clip, his village is an hour’s drive from the city. He disclosed that most of the families hit by the floods were either the super-rich, upper middle class or middle class and they did not require financial relief or any essential items. Interestingly, most areas had power. “There is a scam building up outside the state for fund raising and donations,” Kochattil said in that clip. He ends up suggesting that donations should be made to Sewa Bharati, which is a RSS affiliate organisation. The identity of Kochattil was again exposed by Alt News. They looked up the Facebook account of Kochattil in which he has stated that he is a social media member of the BJP IT cell.
Local media reporters and editors were shocked at the false claims made in the audio clip. Dhanya Rajendran, editor-in-chief News Minute, in her candid post on Facebook remarked, “Thousands of people in a relief camp. Poor people who have lost their homes, they have no clue where to go. If you can’t take in the sorrow of thousands at one time, I suggest you drive a bit further to Athani. Just after the Athani junction is a camp where poor daily wage labourers are living. They are from a small place called Kinussery near the Kochi airport. No boats reached them and they borrowed metal vessels from a caterer, kept the women, elderly and kids in it and pushed it to drier areas. They don’t have an extra pair of clothes. What will they do with the carpenters and blacksmiths that you profess Kerala needs?”
Even as the Kochattil exposé was doing the rounds, an impostor wearing an Army combat uniform was seen in a video spreading false information about rescue and relief efforts. Kerala is seen to be battling disinformation on the ground and more so on social media platforms. Embarrassed by the flak the Indian Army received on account of the imposter’s video, the Additional Directorate General of Public Information, IHQ of MoD (Army), tweeted, “Imposter wearing Army combat uniform in video spreading disinformation about rescue & relief efforts. Every effort by all & #IndianArmy aimed to overcome this terrifying human tragedy. Forward disinformation about #IndianArmy on WhatsApp +917290028579. We are at it #KeralaFloods.”
Troubled by this information, CM of Kerala tweeted on Monday at 7.00 pm, “Stringent action will be taken against those who are spreading fake information.” He further stated, “Police have been instructed to take strict measures against such cyber offenders. Also spotted some fraudulent messages/posters with altered CMDRF account numbers as well.”
‘‘We’re not just fighting the after effects of floods,” says Rajesh V. Menon, district organizing commissioner for The Bharat Scouts and Guides. “We’re also fighting against fake news campaigns.” Rumors about electricity shortages and the spread of diseases shared on WhatsApp and Facebook are creating panic, Menon adds
