Facebook on Saturday flagged a video shared by Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma as “false information”. Biswa had claimed that the video showed supporters of All India United Democratic Front MP Badruddin Ajmal shouting “pro-Pakistan” slogans.
Sarma claimed that the incident took place at the Silchar airport, according to The Times of India.
“Look at the brazenness of these fundamentalists anti-national people who are shouting PAKISTAN ZINDABAD while they welcome MP Ajmal,” he wrote on Facebook, along with the video. “This thoroughly exposes Indian National Congress which is encouraging such forces by forging an alliance. We shall fight them tooth and nail. Jai Hind.”
Facebook said that the video was analysed by independent fact-checkers and the information shared by Sarma had no factual basis.
The All India United Democratic Front, meanwhile, clarified that its supporters had shouted “Aziz Khan zindabad” for a party leader, The Assam Tribune reported. The party added that fact-checking websites such as AltNews and BoomLive had also supported their claim.
The party also alleged that the incident was an example of “cheap politics” by the Bharatiya Janata Party, NorthEast Now reported.
Sarma, on the other hand, claimed that Facebook had not flagged posts that are against the BJP, according to The Times of India. “A case has been registered and the police will get the video examined by the forensic department,” he was quoted as saying by the newspaper. “But Facebook has already given its verdict, which proves how well-oiled the mechanism is. So many fake news have appeared against us and Facebook has not taken them off.”
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