On Wednesday (January 25), Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair took potshots at NDTV for supposedly not tweeting about the allegations levelled by US-based investment firm, Hindenburg Research, against India’s Adani Group.
Given that the Indian conglomerate acquired a majority stake in the news channel in December last year, the dubious fact checker tried to suggest that NDTV would not provide coverage to criticism directed at Gautam Adani.
In a tweet, Mohammed Zubair wrote, “Not a single tweet from @NDTVProfit @ndtv, @ndtvvideos, @ndtvindia @ndtvfeed on Hindenburg Research.” While it is true that NDTV did not tweet about the report initially, it covered the news story on Friday (January 27).
While pointing out his hypocrisy, a Twitter user (@Vasooli_) reminded Mohammed Zubair how he never tweeted about a dubious report by Time Magazine about him and his Alt News founder Pratik Sinha being in the race for Noble Peace Prize.
Tune bhi to chup chaap Noble prize peechwade main daal hi liya tha na ki koi fact-check bhi kiya tha? https://t.co/EubGSAxLAh
— तपस्वी श्री वसूली भाई (@Vasooli_) January 30, 2023
It is notable here that the so-called fact-checker was inundated with congratulatory messages after a media report suggested that he has been ‘shortlisted’ for the Nobel Peace Prize. However, he never ‘fact-checked’ those claims and messages. In reality, Zubair and Pratik Sinha were never ‘nominated’.
OpIndia had already dismissed the claim, pointing out how there is no such thing as an official list from which the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded, and that the names cited by TIME Magazine were simply speculations made by a media organisation whose ideology is anchored in the global left.
“How many tweets by you to protest beheadings, killings, STSJ threats, hate speech and violence by your fellow faithful? Guess you don’t because if you start condemning you’ll have time for nothing else!” inquired another user.
How many tweets by you to protest beheadings, killings, STSJ threats, hate speech and violence by your fellow faithfuls?
— Ganesh (@mysrgan) January 30, 2023
Guess you don’t because if you start condemning you’ll have time for nothing else! https://t.co/Le69QPNAYy
Popular Twitter user, Maithun, pointed out how he never tweeted about the sexual harassment allegations against Alt News founder Pratik Sinha.
Not a single fact check of #MeToo allegation against its founder by Alt News https://t.co/InJWxHQ0ut
— maithun (@Being_Humor) January 30, 2023
“All are not a fraud like you, ” wrote one Nirmal Kumar Senapati.
All aren’t a fraud like you @zoo_bear https://t.co/mEhLCvVxpz
— Nirmal Kumar Senapati🇮🇳 (@senapati_nirmal) January 26, 2023
Another user (@SanketikGandhi) wrote, “The fact checker cannot even differentiate between accusations and solid proofs. Especially the tactics in Global Business to malign another’s business to get those projects for his own company. Oh! I get it, Zoobear is like those false accusations.”
The fact checker cannot even differentiate between accusations and solid proofs. Especially the tactics in Global Business to malign another’s business to get those projects for his own company.
— Sanketik Gandhi (@SanketikGandhi) January 26, 2023
Oh! I get it, Zoobear is like those false accusations. https://t.co/LnTxhTy7Cs
It must be mentioned that the dubious fact checker has been out on bail since July last year, after former NDTV journalist and his ‘close friend’ Sreenivasan Jain posted a surety bond of ₹50000.
The Hindenberg Research report controversy surrounding the Adani Group
On January 24 this year, the US-based investment research firm published a 32,000-word report, accusing the Adani Group of stock manipulation and use of tax havens.
The Adani Group trashed the Hindenburg Research report as a “malicious combination of selective misinformation and stale, baseless and discredited allegations”.
So far, the Indian conglomerate suffered a loss of $66 billion in stock markets. Gautam Adani also slided down to the 9th position in the list of the world’s richest individuals. The Adani Group also came under attack from the Indian National Congress, which accused the Indian conglomerate of crony capitalism.
On Sunday (January 29), it slammed Hindenburg Research with a 413-page report, dismissing allegations levelled by the latter. The Adani group pointed out how the US-based investment research firm sought to benefit from its damning report.
“This is rife with conflict of interest and intended only to create a false market in securities to enable Hindenburg, an admitted short seller, to book massive financial gain through wrongful means at the cost of countless investors,” it emphasised.
Hindenburg Research, in the meanwhile, issued a statement saying, “Fraud cannot be obfuscated by nationalism or a bloated response that ignores every key allegation we raised.”
