Amidst the politicisation of the Hathras case, a video has been doing rounds on social media showing Congress scions Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra giggling in the car on their way to Hathras where they were going to allegedly show solidarity with the family of the victim.
#WATCH Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on her way to meet the family of the alleged gangrape victim in #Hathras (UP), with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (Source-Congress) pic.twitter.com/TSy7gLaxPL
— ANI (@ANI) October 3, 2020
The video received lot of flak on social media and apparently this did not go down well with media channel India Today. India Today jumped in to ‘fact-check’ the viral video. The media channel claimed that the video was shared by a lot of Congress leaders with and without the giggling sound. The channel did not deny that both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are seated at the front in the car but it claimed that the faces of the Gandhi scions were not visible. Therefore, it cannot be ascertained as to who is laughing.
The video was shared from the Twitter profile of the student wing of the Congress party NSUI with the giggling sound.
Shri @RahulGandhi & Smt. @priyankagandhi are on their way to #Hathras.
— NSUI (@nsui) October 3, 2020
Nothing will stop the #SatyagrahaForOurDaughters pic.twitter.com/TDj7Pvo2S0
The video was also shared by National General Secretary of Indian Youth Congress, Pratibha Raghuvanshi with giggling sound in it.
Leaders lead the way. @priyankagandhi ji driving to Hathras to meet the victim’s family. @RahulGandhi ji and other leaders are with her.@IYC #SatyagrahaForOurDaughters pic.twitter.com/RfBTzbwQVF
— Pratibha Raghuwanshi प्रतिभा रघुवंशी (@pratibhaiyc1) October 3, 2020
Other Congress leaders who shared the video actually shared a shorter version of it that did not have the giggling sound.
Leaders lead the way. Here’s @priyankagandhi ji driving to Hathras to meet the victim’s family. @RahulGandhi ji and other leaders are with her. #SatyagrahaForOurDaughters pic.twitter.com/drNs8H91pL
— Ruchira Chaturvedi (@RuchiraC) October 3, 2020
India Today could not produce a version of the viral video without the giggling sound which was as long as the video with the giggling sound. The videos without the giggling sound shared by Congress leaders are shorter videos with the giggling part edited out. If one listens closely the voices of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are clearly audible in the giggling. Therefore, there is hardly anything to doubt the authenticity of the video when it is being shared by Congress leaders themselves.
Moreover, in a bid to give a clean chit to the Gandhi siblings, India Today did a misleading ‘fact-check’.
Click here to know whether this claim is real or misleading. #AFWAFactCheck #Factcheck pic.twitter.com/NuftSVYBgX
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) October 6, 2020
India Today shared an image taken ahead of 2019 general elections where the Gandhi siblings are smiling and posing for camera and ‘fact-checked’ to claim that the ‘giggling video’ was ‘misleading’. India Today mischievously took two separate incidents and conveniently skipped the latest giggling video to give the Gandhi siblings a clean chit.
