MEA debunks viral post misrepresenting spokesperson over Jantar Mantar protest
New Delhi, July 25
The Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday refuted a viral post claiming that the Central government "has clarified that there are no foreign powers behind the protest taken up by the youth at Jantar Mantar in Delhi", while stating that the MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was "misrepresented" as he had clearly said that he did "not have any information on this matter to share" at that time.
The post that has now being declared "misleading", was put up on a X account named "PulseNewsBreaking".
The denial was issued through a pointed social media post from the MEA's official FactCheck handle.
The MEA said: "The post is misleading and misrepresents the statement of the Spokesperson."
"At the BiWeekly briefing yesterday, the Spokesperson stated the following "Madhu, regarding the point you raised about allegations of foreign funding and other such claims in connection with the ongoing protests, I would like to say that I do not have any information on this matter to share with you at this time," it clarified.
Further, the "misleading" post on PulseNewsBreaking's X handle, which was originally written in Telugu, carried the headline: "No Pakistan Funding, No Hand of Chinese Agents".
It said: "The Central Government has clarified that there are no foreign powers behind the protest taken up by the youth at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Clarity that there is no truth in the BJP supporters' campaign claiming this protest is a conspiracy.. and that it is receiving foreign funding."
"The Centre states that there are no Pakistan or China conspiracies behind this protest.. and no evidence whatsoever regarding the involvement of foreign powers. The Central Government has made it clear not to believe the false propaganda circulating on social media," it added.
PulseNewsBreaking further claimed: "With this.. it is as if a severe shock has struck the BJP ranks who have been creating a huge uproar on social media all these days claiming this protest is a conspiracy!"
— IANS
Reader Comments
The MEA spokesperson clearly said "I do not have any information on this matter to share" - that doesn't mean they confirmed or denied anything. Misrepresenting official statements is dangerous and spreads misinformation. Kudos to MEA's FactCheck team for setting the record straight.
Honestly, the protest at Jantar Mantar is about genuine issues youth face - unemployment, education, etc. Why do we keep dragging foreign powers into everything? Let's address the real problems instead of conspiracy theories. The MEA did right by not entertaining baseless allegations.
This PulseNewsBreaking account is clearly trying to create a narrative. MEA never said those things. The BJP supporters might have been overzealous in their claims earlier, but that doesn't mean we should believe every Telugu-language post that twists official statements. Verification is key 🔑
I appreciate the MEA for being transparent and not jumping to conclusions. The spokesperson said they had no info, which is honest. But some people on social media are using this to score political points against BJP. Both sides need to focus on facts, not fuel rumors.
The real issue here is how quickly misinformation spreads. A misleading post in Telugu gets shared widely, and then MEA has to clarify. We need better media literacy in India. Also, the protest at Jantar Mantar is about youth aspirations - let's not make it about foreign powers or political battles 🙏
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.