Fact Check: Akhilesh Yadav And Yogi Adityanath’s 2017 Photo Going Viral With False Claims

New Delhi | Vishvas News: A video is rapidly gaining traction on social media, featuring an image capturing Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav shaking hands. The claim accompanying the video suggests that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has aligned himself with Akhilesh Yadav and is actively supporting the Samajwadi Party in Madhya Pradesh.

Upon investigation by Vishvas News, it was determined that the viral video was created to garner views and likes. The widely circulated picture depicting Akhilesh Yadav and CM Yogi shaking hands is not recent; rather, it dates back to the year 2017 when they met at a program. Contrary to the claim, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is not campaigning for the Samajwadi Party but is actively supporting candidates from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

What Is Going Viral?

Facebook user (archive link) ‘My News’ shared the viral picture on November 17, 2023, and wrote in the caption, “Baba seen on stage with Akhilesh, storm has come in UP politics MP Election 2023 Dimple Yadav”

Vishvas News Investigation:

To uncover the truth behind the viral video, we initiated a Google search using relevant keywords. However, no credible news reports corroborating the claim were discovered. Taking the investigation further we searched related keywords on Google to ascertain details about the images featuring Akhilesh Yadav and CM Yogi present in the viral video. We identified the viral image on India Today’s official Facebook page, posted on May 5, 2017. According to available information, the image captures a meeting that took place at an India Today program.

In our news search, a report dated November 15, 2023, on the Naiduniya website revealed that CM Yogi visited Chhindwara to endorse the BJP in Madhya Pradesh. He conducted a rally there, actively seeking support for the BJP and soliciting votes. Subsequent Google searches affirmed that CM Yogi is consistently engaged in campaigning on behalf of the BJP. A report on the ABP News website dated November 19, 2023, mentioned CM Yogi Adityanath’s upcoming campaign for BJP candidate Satish Poonia in the Amer Assembly seat.

Vishvas News further examined the official social media accounts of Akhilesh Yadav, the BJP, and CM Yogi, but failed to uncover any posts related to the aforementioned claim. Additionally, we reached out to Avnish Tyagi, the spokesperson for the Uttar Pradesh BJP, for clarification. Tyagi dismissed the viral claim as false, stating, “False claims about CM Yogi are circulating. He consistently conducts rallies and campaigns in favour of the BJP, having recently rallied in support of the party in Madhya Pradesh and preparing to campaign in Rajasthan as well.”

Concluding our investigation, we scrutinised the account of the user who shared the viral video with misleading claims. Our findings indicate a pattern of sharing similar fabricated videos, with the user’s page boasting 123 followers.

Conclusion: Vishvas News determined through its investigation that the viral picture of Akhilesh Yadav and CM Yogi is not recent but dates back to 2017 when they met at a program. Contrary to the claim, CM Yogi is actively campaigning for BJP candidates and not for the Samajwadi Party.

Tags

• Akhilesh Yadav
• Yogi Adityanath