By Hazel Gandhi
A digitally altered screenshot of a report by Canada-based news outlet Toronto Sun alleging how human faeces were found near Lord Hanuman's statue in Brampton is viral online.
BOOM found that the report's headline had been digitally altered to make the false claim and the original report did not carry any news about human faeces being found near the deity's statue.
Indian-Canadian diplomatic relations soured after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of being involved in the killing of pro-Khalistani Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an allegation fervently denied by India.
BOOM has previously fact-checked several false claims made in the backdrop of this diplomatic row. Read some of our stories here and here.
The screenshot of the report purportedly carries the headline 'Numerous piles of human faeces appear in the area around the Hindu god statue in Brampton' and is written by a Denette Wilford, published on December 15, 2023. The screenshot was shared by a verified handle on X, @lporiginalg without any caption.
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
A caption on Facebook read, "Canada is truly a toilet"
Click here to view.
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FACT CHECK
BOOM found that the screenshot of the original report by Toronto Sun has been digitally edited to make the false claim.
We ran a keyword search on Google taking a clue from the masthead, the author's name, and the date mentioned in the report and found that it carried a different headline from the one in the viral screenshot. It read, 'Massive statue of Hindu god being built in Brampton' and did not mention anything about human faeces. The article's lede was also not what the viral screenshot suggested.
Click here to view the report and here for an archive.
Below is a comparison between the fake news report and the original one on Toronto Sun's website.
We also tried to look for a cached or archived version of the report that could suggest it was edited after being published, but did not find any results.
According to several reports, the Hindu Sabha Mandir is constructing a 55-ft statue of Lord Hanuman in Brampton, located in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in Canada. The statue is said to be almost complete, and is scheduled to be unveiled next year on April 23, to coincide with the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti. Rajasthan-based sculptor Naresh Kumawat is behind the construction of this statue. Recently, the temple administration has heightened security around the statue after receiving hate for its construction from some locals.
BOOM has reached out to Adrienne Batra, editor of the Toronto Sun; the story will be updated upon a response.
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