FACT CHECK: Nat Geo did not post racist tweet
A purported tweet by National Geographic is viral on social media. "Bright, white and associated to milk, a white substance. Is the way our own galaxy is named, racist?" it reads.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 9 Jun 2021 6:35 AM GMT
HYDERABAD: A purported tweet by National Geographic is viral on social media.
"Bright, white and associated to milk, a white substance. Is the way our own galaxy is named, racist?" it reads.
The tweet seems to suggest that the naming of the Milky Way Galaxy is racist. Along with this, an article titled, " Is the Milky Way Galaxy racist? " is also attached.
FACT CHECK:
This tweet was not posted by National Geographic.
Firstly, we searched the feed of National Geographic on Twitter but did not find the tweet. However, the same image was found, but the text reads, " Bright, fleeting blasts of radio waves coming from the vicinity of a nearby galaxy are deepening one of astronomy's biggest mysteries".
This indicates that the viral tweet is edited and is fake. It should also be noted that the viral tweet has grammatical errors, which would have been avoided if posted by the official account of National Geographic.
Secondly, we searched on National Geographic's website and did not find any article titled, "Is the Milky Way Galaxy racist". The only closest similar blog is titled, "Our Milky Way Galaxy Is as White as, Well, Milk". This again indicates that the viral tweet is fake as the attached article does not exist.
https://blog.
National Geographic confirmed in an email statement to Reuters that the viral tweet had been digitally altered and that it was not posted by them.
https://www.reuters.com/
With the above information, it is clear that the viral tweet of National Geographic is fake and that the original tweet has been altered.
