Andhra Pradesh officials not ordered to make people watch film on CM Jagan Mohan Reddy

What is the claim?

An image of a purported official order is circulating on social media with the claim that the government of the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh issued a directive to district collectors to send people to watch the movie 'Yatra 2', which is based on the life of Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy (popularly known as Jagan).

The said order, released under the letterhead of the Social Welfare Department of Andhra Pradesh, is dated February 7 and states in Telugu, "District collectors may instruct all Anganwadi and Asha staff to watch the movie in theatres on the first two days. Village volunteers also should be briefed about the matter and guidance may be given to them so that they would bring at least 10 beneficiaries of social welfare schemes to the theatres (translated)." The order further asked the district collectors (the executive heads of district administrations) to make agreements with theatre owners so that each village ward is allotted 10 tickets for each show.

A Facebook user shared an image of the purported order, with a caption in Telugu, saying, "What is the atrocity? A government order on Yatra movie," and questioned some of the alleged instructions mentioned in the said directive. The image has also been shared on X (formerly Twitter), and archived links of similar posts can be found here, here, here, and here.  

Image of the purported official circulating on social media. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

It is to be noted that the movie 'Yatra 2' is a sequel to the 2019 movie 'Yatra,' which was a biography of YS Rajashekar Reddy, former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Jagan's father. The sequel, released on February 8, traces Jagan's political journey and has been released just months before Andhra Pradesh goes to elections. 

However, the Andhra government issued no such order, and the image of a fabricated order has been shared to make false claims about district collectors being ordered to send people to watch 'Yatra 2.'

What is the truth?

We searched for the official order on the Andhra Pradesh government website but found no such directive. According to the website records, the state's social welfare department did not issue such an order on February 7, as mentioned in the viral post, or on any other date. In fact, the department uploaded an official order last in August 2021.

Had the Andhra Pradesh government issued the purported order, national or regional news outlets would have reported on the matter; however, we came across no reports mentioning such a directive.

Logically Facts contacted an official from the social welfare department to verify the veracity of the order. The official, who wished to remain anonymous, said, "The order is fabricated. We have filed a complaint with the CID (Crime Investigation Department), and they are investigating. We hope to find the culprits behind this post very soon."

A close look at the viral image of the order also showed a significant discrepancy, suggesting that it is fake. The order is signed by 'Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney.' However, Sawhney served as the chief secretary only till December 2020 and is now Andhra Pradesh's chief election commissioner. The current chief secretary of the state is K.S. Jawahar Reddy. 

Jagan-led Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), the ruling party in Andhra Pradesh, also took to X to put out a clarification that a fake circular was circulating on social media. Sharing the viral image, the party accused its rival parties—Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Jana Sena, of spreading misinformation.

(Source: X)

The verdict

An image of a fabricated order has been shared to claim that the Andhra Pradesh government issued a directive instructing district collectors to send people to watch the movie 'Yatra 2,' which is based on Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy's life. A government official confirmed that no order was issued to such an effect. Therefore, we have marked this claim as fake.