ఫేక్ న్యూస్ క్లిప్ షేర్ చేసి ఆంధ్ర ఎన్నికలలో తెలుగుదేశం వై ఎస్ షర్మిలకి మద్ధతు ప్రకటించిందని క్లైమ్ చేశారు

What is the claim?

ABN Andhra Jyoti shared a 17-second news clip on social media, claiming that Telugu Desam has indirectly supported Andhra Pradesh Congress President YS Sharmila, who is contesting from Kadapa, in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

In this clip, it is said that Telugu Desam is giving indirect support to Kadapa Congress candidate YS Sharmila, Kadapa Telugu Desam candidate Bhupesh Reddy is in a friendly contest and Chandrababu Naidu has called Telugu Desam activists to cooperate. Telugu Desam, Jana Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party have formed an alliance in the upcoming elections in Andhra Pradesh. Congress formed another alliance with other parties. YS Sharmila is the younger sister of the current Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Social media users also criticized this decision claiming that Chandrababu took it. Archives of such posts can be found here , here , and here  . 

Screenshot of viral social media post (Courtesy: X/Logically Facts Editing)

But ABN did not broadcast such news. This is a digitally created video clip.

What did we learn?

We have searched for news articles about this decision that Telugudesam has taken. We could not find any such news articles. So we checked this news clip thoroughly to find out if it is real.

In this news clip, the name of Kadapa Telugu Desam candidate Bhupesh Reddy is wrong. This made us think that it might be a fake clip. A careful look at this clip reveals loopholes.

Although the template used for this viral clip is the Music ABN channel way, the font used is not the font used for the ABN breaking news segment. ABN uses bolder font for breaking news segment. Also the 'ABN' stamp used in the news clip is bolder and clearer than the one in the viral clip. 

Comparisons between Viral Template, ABN Original Template (Courtesy: X/ABN Andhra Jyoti/Screen Shots)

ABN Andhra Jyoti clarified on April 7, 2024 that they did not broadcast such news and it was a fake news clip. 

Also, Chandrababu Naidu also shared a letter on social media saying that he had written an open letter about the same issue. However, the Telugu Desam Party also clarified in its official account on April 7 that this letter is fake. 

This is not the first time that fake letters in the name of Chandrababu are circulating on social media. We have previously debunked fake, edited clips and letters circulating in his name. Some of them can be read here and here  . 

judgment

ABN shared a fake news clip in the name of Andhra Jyoti, a fake letter in the name of Chandrababu and claimed that Telugu Desam has extended its support to YS Sharmila in Kadapa for the upcoming elections. So we conclude that this claim is fake. 

(Translation by Gutta Rohit)