Fact Check: Edited QR Code Goes Viral In The Name Of Congress’ ‘Donate For Country’ Campaign

New Delhi Vishvas News – The Congress Party has initiated the ‘Donate for Desh’ campaign as a means to digitally connect with people and collect donations. A QR code associated with this campaign has gained widespread attention, featuring the image of Sonia Gandhi. Individuals are circulating this image, mocking the Congress and asserting that the party released the QR code for the ‘Donate for the Country’ campaign.

Upon investigation, Vishvas News has determined that the viral picture is manipulated. The original QR code does not display Sonia Gandhi’s image; instead, it features the Congress election symbol, a hand. The viral image has been altered using editing software.

What’s Going Viral?

While sharing the viral picture on December 28, 2023, Facebook user Aditya Prakash Singh wrote in the caption, “Those who were making fun of Digital India till yesterday… the same people are begging digitally today.”

Investigation:

To ascertain the authenticity of the viral picture, we conducted a Google search using relevant keywords. During this investigation, we discovered the genuine image on the official Facebook account of the Congress party. The original picture was shared on December 28, 2023, with a caption that reads, “Important information… today, on the foundation day of the Indian National Congress, a barcode has been installed on the backs of the chairs in the Maharally in Nagpur. By scanning that barcode, you can donate Rs 138, Rs 1380, Rs 13800, Rs 138000, or more to the Indian National Congress. Rahul Gandhi will give certificates and receipts to five people selected from among all the donors who came to this rally. Let’s be a part of the change together. Strengthen Congress, strengthen the country.”

In the original picture accompanying the post, it is evident that the QR code does not feature the image of Sonia Gandhi, but rather the Congress election symbol hand.

Continuing our investigation, we expanded our search to other social media accounts affiliated with the Congress party. Unfortunately, we could not locate any information related to the viral picture across various platforms. Attempting to find news coverage on the subject using relevant keywords on Google yielded no results. If the Congress party had indeed released such a QR code, there would likely have been news reports on the matter. However, our news search led us to reports by India TV and the Economic Times, both featuring the QR code picture without Sonia Gandhi’s face.

Further into our investigation, we discovered a video from a Congress rally in Maharashtra, shared on ANI’s official account on December 28. According to available information, the Congress party had implemented a QR code on the back of chairs for donations during the rally. The video shows that the QR code’s picture differs significantly from the viral image in question.

Upon closer examination of the viral post, we observed the presence of the handle @memebhaimbbs. Further investigation revealed that this is a handle on X dedicated to sharing memes. The viral picture was posted from this handle on December 18, 2023, triggering subsequent shares by individuals who believed it to be authentic.

In our pursuit of more details, we reached out to UP Congress spokesperson Abhimanyu Tyagi. Dismissing the viral claim, he asserted that the picture is manipulated, emphasizing that the Congress party did not release the image in question. According to him, the original photograph features the Congress symbol, a hand.

To gather additional insights, we examined the user’s account who initially shared the viral post with the false claim. Our findings indicate that the user shares posts aligned with a particular ideology and has around 500 followers.