Fact Check: Shah Rukh Khan Did Not Say This About Rahul Gandhi. Viral X Screenshot Is Fake

Fact Check: A fake screenshot of an Instagram post by Shah Rukh Khan falsely claimed Rahul Gandhi would become India's next prime minister.

Fact Check: A screenshot of a purported X post by actor Shah Rukh Khan was shared by many social media users. "Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be the next prime minister of India," read the alleged X post by the actor. In its investigation, the PTI Fact Check Desk found that the screenshot shared on social media was imaginary and fake. The actor has not published anything recently on the Congress leader.

Claim

An Instagram user shared on May 25 a screenshot of a purported X post by Shah Rukh Khan, which claimed that Rahul Gandhi will be the next prime minister. 

The caption of the post read: “अबतो शाहरुख खान ने भी कहदिया राहुल गांधी ही प्रधानमंत्री बनेंगे....”

An English translation to the caption read, “Now Shahrukh Khan also said Rahul Gandhi will become the Prime Minister....”

Here is the link and archive link and below is a screenshot of the same:

Investigation

Starting the investigation, the Desk scanned social media platforms and found that several other users had shared the same screenshot with a similar claim. 

Here is the link and archive link to one such post, and below is a screenshot of the same: 

The screenshot was widely shared on YouTube as well. Three such videos can be found here, here and here and their archive versions can be viewed here, here and here respectively.

The Desk then conducted a customised keyword search on Google, but could not find any report regarding any such social media post. 

In the next part of investigation, the Desk scanned the official X handle of the actor but could not find any such post by him.

As can be seen in the screenshot above, Khan shared only post in the month of May, in which he urged people of Maharashtra to exercise their franchise and cast vote in the state in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha polls held on May 20. 

The Desk also checked the account’s activity log on Social Blade, a social media analytics website, and found that no post was deleted recently. Below is a screenshot showing the same: 

Subsequently, the Desk concluded that a fake screenshot was shared on social media in the name of Shah Rukh Khan

CLAIM
Shah Rukh Khan said that Rahul Gandhi will be the next prime minister.

FACT
Shah Rukh Khan did not make any such statement on social media, or in public.

CONCLUSION
Several social media users shared a purported screenshot of an X post by Shah Rukh Khan, which quoted him claiming that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be the next prime minister. In its investigation, the PTI Fact Check Desk found that a fake screenshot was shared on social media with false claim.

This story was originally published by PTI Fact Check as part of the Shakti Collective. Except for the headline, excerpt, and the opening introduction para, this story has not been edited by ABPLIVE staff.