Controversial journalist Shekhar Gupta’s ThePrint today profiled C J Werleman where they described him as a ‘bigot-turned-crusader against ‘Islamophobia’ who is taking on the Indian state’.
However, while gushing and fawning over Werleman who has been carrying out his ‘activism’ by ‘tweeting about Indian State’s “atrocities” on Kashmiri Muslims’, ThePrint forgets to mention the little detail about him that he is also a fake news peddler.
The anti-India part-time journalist, full-time propagandist Werleman has been caught spreading fake news about the same ‘atrocities’ on Indian Muslims more than once.
In August 2018, he took to Twitter to wrongly claim that the BJP had banned the slaughter of livestock during Eid. Werlemen also claimed that the Police Officer was forcing an Imam to declare “Qurbani is a punishable crime” to his followers in the video that he had attached.
The first part of his claim is patently false as we have reported that the BJP had only banned the slaughter of animals in public and imposed a total ban on cow slaughter. In the video, it could be seen that the Policeman was merely standing beside the Imam and he cannot be seen uttering a single word during the entire length of the video. Although the audio in the video is not quite clear, the Imam appears to be appealing to his followers to follow the directions issued by the administration and warned them of the consequences if they didn’t.
Uttar Pradesh Police also called out Werleman’s repeated offence.
Dear @cjwerleman – You had earlier mistaken an incident of Rajasthan to be in UP which was brought to your notice. Again we see a fictional tweet from you, maligning UP. Pls do not spread rumours. Bakrid is being peacefully celebrated across the state as per the traditions.
— UP POLICE (@Uppolice) August 22, 2018
C.J. Werlemen appears to have a special grudge against Uttar Pradesh, probably because a saffron-clad monk is the Chief Minister of the state. The tweets chosen by ThePrint to protray Werleman as a ‘crusader against Islamophobia’
refer to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as ‘Hindutva terrorist’.
This Hindutva terrorist refers to Muslims as a “virus,” compares them to pests and has publicly threatened genocide.
Anywhere else in the world, he’d be in prison.
In India, he’s the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, the country’s largest state!
— CJ Werleman (@cjwerleman) April 6, 2019
He wrongly cites Yogi as referring to Muslims as ‘virus’ when Yogi was actually referring to the Indian Union Muslim League as ‘virus’. The Congress party is in alliance with Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) which in turn is tied up with Jammat-e-Islami and Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), both accused by National Investigation Agency (NIA) of spreading radicalism in Kerala.
During Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Wayanad to file his nomination, IUML members took rallies out abusing Narendra Modi as well. In this particular video, IUML members can be heard shouting “S*ala K*tta Narendra Modi”.
ThePrint conveniently forgets to mention this part. ThePrint does not clarify that Yogi is referring to IUML as ‘virus’ and not Muslims.
Moving on, on another occasion, Kasganj Police had to refute his allegations after Werlemen accused them of teaming up with ‘Hindu extremists’ to target Muslims. In a separate instance, this time not involving Uttar Pradesh, Werlemen used a video depicting the violence during the Bhima-Koregaon clashes in Maharashtra and claimed that it, in fact, showed Hindus destroying Muslim property.
India: This video sent to me allegedly shows Hindutva fanatics destroying 25 Muslim owned businesses and property in Aurangabad on 25 March. pic.twitter.com/lRI6rx1SRA
— CJ Werleman (@cjwerleman) March 28, 2018
Aurangabad in Bihar had violent communal clashes following the Ram Navami celebrations in the state in March 2018. However, Werleman used video of violence that took place in Maharashtra a few months prior during the Bhima-Koregaon incident, to lie that ‘Hindu fanatics’ were destroying Muslim properties.
The video Werleman has shared was actually of violence which took place in Maharashtra at an event to mark 200 years of the Bhima Koregaon battle near Pune on 1st January this year.
Maharashtra: Violence between two groups during an event to mark 200 years of the Bhima Koregaon battle near Pune yesterday, vehicles set on fire pic.twitter.com/5RpITAK4qB
— ANI (@ANI) January 2, 2018
Despite being pointed out by people more than once, Werleman has kept these tweets with fake news which could flare up communal tension. CJ Werleman has been a regular offender.
His obsession with relating everything to Hindu extremism and inventing lies out of thin air seems to have gone over the edge. However, he is unlikely to mend his ways as agenda trumps everything.
