DigitEye India Fact Checkers
Amid the ongoing campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, a screenshot allegedly from the April 13 edition of the Hindi newspaper Dainik Bhaskar is being shared widely on social media. The image, reflecting the usual front page of the Hindi newspaper claimed that a survey predicted the INDIA bloc’s lead in 10 states, and the final outcome would be a sweeping win for the bloc and the consequent defeat of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The first phase of voting will start in three days, to be precise, on April 19, 2024, in 102 constituencies across 21 states and Union Territories. The survey screenshot was shared widely across the social media platforms. Here’s the screenshot:
The claim alongwith the screenshot says, “Dainik Bhaskar-Nelson Survey: In 10 states INDIA alliance is leading & could cross 200 in these 10 states alone. Even in the Hindi heartland states, Modi’s image is not enough to get votes for the BJP. NDA is looking at washout from Bihar, Bengal & Maharashtra. #BJPbelow180”.
The screenshot has been widely shared by some Congress leaders and others.
FACT CHECK
Digiteye India received a request to do fact-check on the screenshot and our first step was to see the front page screenshot of the Dainik Bhaskar newspaper on April 13, 2024. Here it is:
Obviously, the real front page of Dainik Bhaskar is different from the one being shared widely on social media. Also, there was no mention of any such survey by Dainik Bhaskar and Nelson group. Neither the Bhopal edition nor any other edition of Dainik Bhaskar carried the claimed survey on its front page.
Further, our search on X (formerly Twitter) led us to the official denial by the Dainik Bhaskar group in Hindi stating that the purported survey was not by them but a fake one inserted in their front page screenshot.
#FakeNews : यह सर्वे फेक है, जिसे कुछ असामाजिक तत्वों ने तैयार किया है… दैनिक भास्कर ऐसे किसी भी कंटेंट का दावा नहीं करता है… ऐसे लोगों पर सख्त कार्रवाई होनी चाहिए#DainikBhaskar #ElectionCommission @ECISVEEP pic.twitter.com/ahKD5dFWQC
— Dainik Bhaskar (@DainikBhaskar) April 13, 2024
Hence, a false claim of the survey has been inserted on the frontpage of Dainik Bhaskar.
Claim: The Dainik Bhaskar newspaper in Hindi published a front-page report predicting the INDIA bloc’s lead in 10 states in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Conclusion: The screenshot is altered to insert a fake survey report. it was not published by Dainik Bhaskar in its April 13 edition and the paper denied it as fake.
Rating: Misleading — 
