Karnataka witnessed close to 600 deaths due to COVID on May 8, its highest since the start of the pandemic. The infection shows no signs of decelerating as the state recorded 48,781 fresh cases in the last 24 hours. But Karnataka is also witnessing a rise in communal disinformation. BJP MP Tejasvi Surya recently accused Muslim employees of the South Bangalore COVID war room of a bed-for-bribe scam. All the 17 employees have now been given clean chits and will rejoin duties, needless to say with broken morales. But an organised attempt to vilify the state’s Muslim population continues on social media.
[Read: How BJP MP Tejasvi Surya communalised BBMP bed scam with misinformation]
Postcard News Kannada, one of the most popular names in the disinformation ecosystem (its English vertical was banned by Facebook), has claimed that 5-8 Muslims have tie-ups with certain agencies and are making Rs 7-8,000 per funeral for those who passed away due to COVID. The agencies make Rs 35,000 for the deal.
[Read: Postcard ‘News’ – A mega factory of fake news that continues to spew venom]https://www.facebook.com/v2.8/plugins/post.php?app_id=298431377239806&channel=https%3A%2F%2Fstaticxx.facebook.com%2Fx%2Fconnect%2Fxd_arbiter%2F%3Fversion%3D46%23cb%3Dfab2feb10b50d4%26domain%3Dwww.altnews.in%26origin%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.altnews.in%252Ff10b58eea89c794%26relation%3Dparent.parent&container_width=300&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FPostcardKanada%2Fposts%2F1465349897149573&locale=en_US&sdk=joey&show_text=true
The claim was also shared by Postcard News founder Mahesh Vikram Hegde. It drew over 2,200 shares from his account as of this writing. In 2018, Hegde was arrested by Bangalore police crime branch for promoting the false news that a Jain monk was attacked by Muslims in Bangalore.https://www.facebook.com/v2.8/plugins/post.php?app_id=298431377239806&channel=https%3A%2F%2Fstaticxx.facebook.com%2Fx%2Fconnect%2Fxd_arbiter%2F%3Fversion%3D46%23cb%3Df3933cd6ad61698%26domain%3Dwww.altnews.in%26origin%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.altnews.in%252Ff10b58eea89c794%26relation%3Dparent.parent&container_width=300&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FHinduVikrama%2Fposts%2F315951550106820&locale=en_US&sdk=joey&show_text=true
The complete text overlayed on the graphic reads, “Did you know this? Agencies are making a deal of Rs 35,000 for the last rites of COVID deceased in Bangalore. These agencies outsource dead bodies to 5-8 Muslims for Rs 7-8,000. At the time of cremation ‘topi’ wearing Muslims pose performing social service and spread its (positive) images on social media. This is a huge scam, the government must investigate such reprehensible (low life) acts and arrest them.”
Hegde has also shared the claim in English to reach a larger audience.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=zoo_bear&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3R3ZWV0X2VtYmVkX2NsaWNrYWJpbGl0eV8xMjEwMiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJjb250cm9sIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1391089015391092736&lang=en-gb&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.altnews.in%2Fpostcard-news-makes-false-allegation-to-target-muslim-volunteers-performing-last-rites-in-karnataka%2F&sessionId=1fe19add465f27451e03d1e4d16a6de95483067b&siteScreenName=AltNews&theme=light&widgetsVersion=82e1070%3A1619632193066&width=550px
Fake News Library 