An Instagram user shared a video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and cricketer Hardik Pandya sharing a dais, and claimed that the latter had joined the BJP. In the video, Mr Shah can be heard announcing Mr Pandya's name while the slug running on the video claims that the cricketer had joined the ruling party. In its investigation, the PTI Fact Check Desk found that a clipped video from an event was taken out of context and shared on social media with a false claim.
On February 12, Mr Shah inaugurated the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha Premier League, a cricket tournament for the people of Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency. The event was attended by Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. The clipped video is being shared on social media ahead of the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Claim
An Instagram user shared on February 20 a video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and cricketer Hardik Pandya sharing a dais, and claimed that the latter had joined the BJP. The video shows Mr Shah announcing the name of Mr Pandya while the text running on the video claims that the cricketer had joined the BJP.
The Instagram post with over 1 million views read:
Investigation
Starting the investigation, the Desk ran the video through InVid Tool Search and found a few keyframes. On running one of the keyframes through Google Lens, the Desk came across a photo gallery by The Free Press Journal, which carried the pictures as shown in the viral video.
The caption in the photo gallery, dated February 13, 2024, read: "Amit Shah inaugurates Gandhinagar Lok Sabha Premier League with Hardik Pandya."
Here is the link to the photo gallery
