Fact Check: Fake e-paper ‘Telangana News Today Daily’ is spreading misinformation
Several newspaper clippings of ‘Telangana News Today Daily’ e-paper about important events related to the Telugu State are in circulation
By K Sherly Sharon Published on 24 Dec 2024 2:39 PM IST
Claim: The viral newspaper clippings of Telangana News Today Daily show real news updates.
Fact: The claim is false. The media outlet ‘Telangana News Today Daily’ does not exist and is being used to spread misinformation.
Hyderabad: Replicas of news cards of popular media outlets have always been used to spread misinformation. However, a recent trend has emerged where news cards and newspaper clippings of non-existent news outlets are being used to spread false information.
Newspaper clippings from one such e-paper called ‘Telangana News Today Daily’ have gone viral with various claims about the current affairs of the Telugu State.
NewsMeter has found five such claims made using its 'news clippings'. All of these claims are related to the former Chief Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrashekar Rao and former minister and BRS working president KT Rama Rao.
Before we analyse each claim, we check whether ‘Telangana News Today Daily’ is real or not.
Finding out if ‘Telangana News Today Daily’ exists
We found that the ‘Telangana News Today Daily’ e-paper does not exist.
As with any other e-paper clipping, ‘Telangana News Today Daily’ clippings have a headline, key points, a banner consisting of a logo, a date and a link to the article related to the claim. An image of the news clipping is below.
When we clicked on the link, we were directed to pages that didn’t work. This meant that the links did not exist.
The logo—a yellow and orange-coloured owl—on the banner belonged to Readwhere. As per the website, it is India’s largest digital newsstand. However, we couldn’t find Telangana News Today Daily on the website.
We also conducted various keyword searches on Google and Bing and found that the Telangana News Today Daily e-paper or its website does not exist anywhere.
Using Whois we also found that the domain telangananewstodaydaily has not been registered yet. We searched for the registration for ‘Telangana News Today’ and ‘Telangana News Today Daily’ on the website of the office of registrar of newspapers for India and found that the titles were not registered.
Therefore, we conclude the e-paper by the name of ‘Telangana News Today Daily’ does not exist and the newspaper clippings from this e-paper are fake.
But is this outlet being used to spread fake claims?
Here’s a breakdown of each claim and the truth behind them.
Claim 1
According to the text in the clipping, "Former DCP alleges that Kalvakuntla family is conspiring to kill him"
Recently, a case has been lodged against the BRS leader Harish Rao and former Task Force DCP Radha Kishan Rao for alleged phone tapping. In this context, a news clipping claiming to quote the former DCP saying that the Kalvakuntla family is conspiring to kill him has gone viral. The clipping claims that the former DCP revealed the sensational information in a letter.
A Facebook post, dated December 8, 2024, shared the claim that the former DCP alleged that the whole family of former CM K Chandrasekhar Rao was involved in the phone tapping case. It also claims that the DCP has said that he colluded with the former Intelligence chief Prabhakar Rao and former collector Vekatarami Reddy to make transactions worth thousands of crores and handed over the money to Hawala brokers. (Archive)
A similar claim can be seen here.(Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter has found that the claim is false.
We did not find any credible news reports about any letter written by the former DCP Radhakishan Reddy or his comments alleging that the Kaluvakuntla family is conspiring to kill him.
Claim 2
“KTR instructs BRS members to instigate chaos if he were to be arrested.”
Recently, the ACB filed an FIR against BRS working president KT Rama Rao over the allegations of irregularities in the conduct of the Formula-E race held in Hyderabad in February 2023. In this context, a news card claiming that KTR has instructed the BRS workers to incite mayhem in the event he gets arrested is going viral on social media. (Archive)
The e-paper claims that KTR made these comments over a phone call to some important members of the BRS and that the BRS workers leaked the phone call recordings to the government.
A similar claim can be seen here. (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false.
We used various keywords to search for news mentioned in the clipping about ‘phone call recordings of KTR’ mentioned in the viral post and found no news reports.
Claim 3
“KTR is also my good friend, says Divvela Madhuri”
The newspaper from the fake ‘Telangana News Today Daily’ claims that social media influencer Divvala Madhuri said that the BRS working president KTR is her good friend. The e-news clipping claims that Madhuri shared this information during a chit-chat with the media and said she met KTR through film producer Bellamkonda Suresh at a hotel. (Archive)
A similar claim can be seen here. (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false.
We found that there are no credible reports about Divvala Madhuri meeting KTR.
We also found a YouTube video on NTV Telugu’s channel, uploaded on December 17, 2024, where Madhuri addressed the viral claims. She said, “I have never met KTR, I have never even seen him. I have no relation to Telangana politics.”
Claim 4
“It is wicked to arrest someone even when only one or two people die: KTR on Allu Arjun’s arrest in the Sandhya Theater stampede case”
‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’ actor Allu Arjun was arrested in the Sandhya Theater stampede case where a woman lost her life. Her nine-year-old suffered severe injuries and is currently in a coma.
In this context, a newspaper clipping showing KTR’s reaction to Allu Arjun’s arrest has gone viral. The news claimed that the BRS leader bashed the government for being ‘wicked to arrest someone even when only one or two people die.’ (Archive)
A similar claim can be seen here. (Archive)
“Did Allu Arjun ask the woman who died to come to Sandhya Theater? If cases are filed on cinema people, there is a risk of the film industry moving to Andhra Pradesh. Some instances should be left unseen in the case of celebrities,” the newspaper clipping stated allegedly quoting KTR.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false.
There are no reports or evidence of KTR making those comments in Allu Arjun’s arrest.
The official comment from KTR on Allu Arjun’s arrest can be seen in an X post he made on December 13: “Arrest of National Award winning star Allu Arjun is the pinnacle of insecurity of the rulers! I totally sympathize with the victims of the stampede but who failed really? Treating @alluarjun Garu as a common criminal is uncalled for especially for something he isn’t directly responsible.”
Claim 5
“Actor Rocking Rakesh says KCR gave him Rs 20 crores to make a biopic on him.”
A Telugu film called Keshava Chandra Ramavath was released in theatres on November 22. The film based in Telangana sought to get people’s attention through its title ‘KCR’, a clear reference to the former chief minister and BRS president K Chandrashekar Rao.
Upon the film’s release, a purported newspaper clipping of Rocking Rakesh’s interview went viral. Excerpts from the interview claim that Rocking Rakesh admitted to receiving Rs 20 crores from KCR at a farmhouse to produce a film glorifying the political leader’s life.
Fact Check
NewsMeter has debunked this claim in November 2024.
When News Meter reached out to Rocking Rakesh, he denied ever giving such an interview. He said, "If KCR gave me Rs 20 crore, why would I struggle to find theatres for my film? If it were true, KTR or Dil Raju would have promoted my movie like they did for Balagam."
Therefore, we conclude that not only does the news outlet ‘Telangana News Today Daily’ not exist, but the news being circulated in its name is also fake.
