Fact Check: Claim that BJP leaders visited COVID +ve Dilip Ghosh in hospital without masks is false
By Newsmeter Network Published on 21 Oct 2020 4:33 AM GMT
Hyderabad: A photo of BJP leaders visiting the party's Bengal chief Dilip Ghosh in the hospital after he tested positive for COVID-19 has gone viral on social media. It is being alleged that the leaders who visited Ghosh were not wearing masks.
A Twitter user wrote, "Meeting COVID Positive Dilip Ghosh without wearing any Mask. Only BJP Leaders can Show Such Courage. @MukulR_Official @KailashOnline."
(Archived tweet)
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Fact Check:
This claim is FALSE.
NewsMeter performed a keyword search and found a report by Kolkata 24x7 from January 2018. It had published the same image and said that Mr. Ghosh was in a stable condition following surgery.
Another article by Bangladesh Ekattor from January 2018 had reported that Mr. Ghosh was on his way from Ansanol, where he took part in a public meeting, and had planned to celebrate Vasant Panchami in Kharagpur but a sudden pain in his waist had obstructed him.
These articles were not published recently thereby indicating that the viral photo is not recent either. The photo was not taken after the Bengal BJP chief, Mr. Ghosh, tested positive for COVID-19. Hence, the claim that BJP leaders visited him in the hospital without masks is FALSE.
