DD News journalist says he was told to hide kalava on screen in 2006 during UPA regime, ‘fact-checker’ Zubair tries to prove him a ‘liar’ with a picture from 2013

In his endeavour to demonise and disparage anyone who is even slightly on the other side of the political spectrum, Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of Alt News and self-identified fact-checker, is constantly lowering his own standards by conducting far more ludicrous ‘fact-checks’ and disseminating even more dangerous lies on a daily basis.

Today (May 15), AltNews’ Zubair, once again, rushed to X (formally Twitter) to ‘fact-check’ DD news anchor and journalist Ashok Shrivatav after a clip went viral wherein he shared the blatant anti-Hindu bias of the Congress party. However, in his effort to prove the senior journalist a ‘liar’, Zubair ended up making a fool of himself.

On May 14, Tuesday, a video went viral on X (formally Twitter), wherein senior journalist Ashok Shrivastav, working with a state-owned Doordarshan news channel, was heard reiterating how the Congress has never shied away from exhibiting its anti-Hindu policies and unapologetic Muslim appeasement. In a brief 0.38-second clip, the journalist recounted his one particular day at work when the UPA was at the helm of affairs.

During the Congress regime, I was summoned by a top Doordarshan official and told that my kalawa [sacred Hindu thread] must not be visible on the screen. I refused to remove my kalawa. It is my identity; it is a matter of pride for me. – @AshokShrivasta6, Anchor and Journalist pic.twitter.com/59imJ5H2Mc

— Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) May 14, 2024

He said, “One day, in the year 2006-2007, a top Doordarshan official summoned me and because I wear a Kalava around my wrist, he told me that my kalawa (sacred Hindu thread) must not be visible on the screen. I refused to remove my kalawa. It is my identity; it is a matter of pride for me, he added.

As soon as author Anand Ranganathan uploaded this video to highlight the inherent anti-Hindu bias of the Congress party, Altnews’ Zubair immediately went into Congress defence mode and took it upon himself to ‘fact-check’ the DD news journalist. He shared the clip where Ashok Shrivastav recounted his anecdote during the UPA regime and was clearly heard stating that what he experienced was somewhere in the years 2006-2007.

Zubair, to prove the DD journalist a ‘liar’, shared a picture from 2013, where Ashok Srivastav was seen wearing a Kalava around his wrist while hosting a TV debate. He captioned his post in Hindi, “If you lie, then lie in such a way that you are not easily caught.”

यदि आप झूठ बोलते हैं तो ऐसा झूठ बोलें कि आप आसानी से पकड़े न जाएं।
वीडियो – @ARanganathan72 pic.twitter.com/I40uohsS3w

— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) May 14, 2024

To his amusement, Zubair appeared completely ridiculous in his mad dash to criticise the DD News journalist. Here, Zubair needs to be questioned about his attempt at fact-checking because Ashok Shrivastav made it quite evident that the incident he described occurred somewhere in the years 2006–2007. Zubair, however, went on to share a picture of the anchor from 2013, to prove him a liar.

Shortly after the botched attempt by the Altnews cofounder to ‘fact-check’ the journalist from DD news, Ashok Shrivastav replied. First, he challenged Zubair to a discussion with him, but he then declared that, given his prior record, the self-described fact-checker would undoubtedly decline his offer.

Ashok Shrivastav recalled how he had invited Zubair for a debate on his program ‘Do Took’ after he had spread fake news about Ghaziabad’s Loni incident in 2021. Back then also, Zubair had not responded to his request, the DD news journalist wrote.

In support of his argument, Shrivastav also uploaded a screenshot of the WhatsApp messages he sent to Zubair in 2021, inviting him to a discussion. This was shortly after the co-founder of Altnews posted a doctored video purporting to show that an old Muslim man in Loni, Ghaziabad, had been beaten for not chanting Jai Shri Ram.

आज हां @zoo_bear एक ट्वीट करके भागना नहीं, हिम्मत है तो आओ किसी स्टूडियो में बैठ कर कैमरे पर जनता के सामने डिबेट करते हैं।
राहुल जी के शब्दों में दूध का दूध और पानी का पानी हो जायेगा।
वैसे तुम क्या डिबेट करोगे। 2021 में जब तुमने गाजियाबाद में झूठ फैलाते फैलाया था तब मैंने तुम्हें… pic.twitter.com/6xpZfkuj29

— Ashok Shrivastav (@AshokShrivasta6) May 15, 2024

Zubair shared a manipulated video of an incident that happened in Loni, Ghaziabad in 2021 to fan communal tension

It may be recalled that in 2021, Zubair and several others, namely Rana Ayyub, The Wire, Salman Nizami, Maksoor Usmani, Sama Mohammad and Saba Naqvi had tried to fan communal tension by sharing a manipulated video to allege that an elderly Muslim man had been thrashed for refusing to chant Jai Shri Ram in Loni, Ghaziabad.

Zubair had tweeted, “An elderly man, Sufi Abdul Samad Saifi was attacked by five goons in Loni, Ghaziabad. He was threatened at the gunpoint, beaten, assaulted, and they forcefully chopped off his beard.” In a video shared by the ‘fact-checker’, the victim could be seen being thrashed with sticks by the culprit. His beard was also cut forcibly using a scissor.

The Ghaziabad Police had taken cognisance of Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair fanning communal tension. Uttar Pradesh government had also filed an FIR on June 15 against Twitter for failing to flag the video with unverified claims as ‘manipulative’ and lack of action. Alt News co-founder Zubair, Rana Ayyub, The Wire, Salman Nizami, Maksoor Usmani, Sama Mohammad and Saba Naqvi have also been booked for spreading misleading and fake news.

The accused in the fake hate crime case had turned out to be Muslim and the crime was committed over personal animosity.