Multiple social media users shared a screenshot of a purported article by a leading English news publication, claiming that Singer Shreya Ghoshal leaked confidential information that could harm the country’s economy, during an interview. In its investigation, the Desk found that the viral screenshot was fake and that the English Daily had published no such article. The social media posts were shared with a false claim.
Claim
On February 24, an X (formerly Twitter) shared a screenshot of a purported article by The Indian Express, stating that fans advocated for Shreya Ghoshal’s release after a controversial interview.
The caption of the X post, which garnered 12.5k views, read: “The Nation Reacts – How Do You Feel About It?”
Here is the link and archive link to the post, and below is a screenshot.
Investigation
The Desk ran the viral screenshot through a Google Reverse Image search and found several other users had shared the same post with a similar claim. One such post can be found here, and its archived version can be viewed here.
Initially, the Desk conducted a customised keyword search on Google but could not find any such report by The Indian Express. However, on clicking the link in the viral post, we found several discrepancies- the article did not have a date of publication, and the other hyperlinks, when clicked, led us to Immediate Fastx™- a platform that features a user-friendly interface and free registration for all new sign-ups, and the main link had ‘https://innews.fixedsight.mom/’ written.
Below is the screenshot highlighting the same. The article mentioned that fans expressed their outrage as charges were brought against Shreya Ghoshal for leaking confidential information that could harm the country’s economy.
Image Source: PTI
“The incident occurred during the broadcast of the program “Mirchi Plus” during which Shreya Ghoshal accidentally revealed an additional source of income. Although this income is legal, authorities are concerned that disclosing this information could lead to mass layoffs by exposing income disparities,” read a section of the report.
In the next part of the investigation, the Desk skimmed through the entire interview featured on Mirchi Plus’s official YouTube channel; however, it did not find any such conversation.
Here is the link to the entire interview.
In the next part of the investigation, we contacted The Indian Express team for clarification. In its response, the team told us that these ake web pages are designed to look identical to that of The Indian Express and have been designed to mislead, adding that they have been warning readers.
“We have been warning readers for two years. Characters and links keep changing,” the team responded.
Here is the link to the article The Indian Express published warning readers to beware of fake web pages.
Subsequently, the Desk concluded that the viral screenshot was fake and that Shreya Ghoshal did not make such a statement.
This story was originally published by PTI News as part of the Shakti Collective. Except for the headline/excerpt/opening introduction para, this story has not been edited by News18 staff.
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