By: Soham Shah
November 29 2023
NDTV 'poll of polls’ graphic predicting Congress victory in Telangana is fake
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A post claiming that NDTV "poll of polls" predicts a Congress majority in the Telangana election. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)
Fact-Check
The Verdict Fake
NDTV has denied publishing the "poll of polls" graphic, and there is no credible source for several of the surveys cited in the graphic.
What is the claim?
Several pro-Congress social media accounts have been circulating a graphic claiming to show NDTV's "poll of polls" for the upcoming 2023 Telangana Assembly elections. This graphic, suggesting a decisive win for the Indian National Congress, was shared by Congress leader Supriya Shrinate on X (formerly Twitter) and multiple Facebook accounts.
Archived versions of these posts can be accessed here, here, here, here, and here.
Posts claiming that an NDTV "poll of polls" has predicted a Congress win in the Telangana elections. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)
However, NDTV has refuted publishing this graphic, and there are discrepancies in the data, indicating that the graphic has been fabricated.
What is the truth?
We found that the numbers in the graphic for South First-People's Pulse corresponded with their pre-poll surveys conducted on November 26, and Lok Poll's survey results published on Twitter on November 21.
Contrarily, the ABP C-Voter opinion poll from November 4 did not align with the graphic's claims. The ABP C-Voter survey projected 43 to 55 seats for Congress, whereas the graphic indicated 61 to 65 seats in Telangana.
We also could not verify surveys purportedly by OU JAC (Osmania University Joint Action Committee) or Pulse of Telangana. Additionally, neither the State Intelligence Bureau nor ‘BRS internal survey’ are recognized polling entities.
NDTV, on its X (formerly Twitter) account, clarified the same on November 28, stating that it did not publish any such "poll of polls." Our review of NDTV's archives using keywords ‘Telangana’ and ‘Poll of polls’ between November 27 and 28 found no such report.
Logically Facts has previously debunked similar fake graphics during the 2023 Karnataka elections.
The verdict
While various pre-poll surveys have forecasted a Congress victory in the Telangana election, NDTV did not publish the disputed graphic. Moreover, several polls cited in the graphic lack credible sources.