Fact Check: Viral Video Of Chandrababu Naidu Saying Andhra CM Jagan Will Return To Power Is Edited
Fact Check: A viral video claims Chandrababu Naidu predicted YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's electoral victory. However, the claim is false.
The Verdict: [Fake]
- In the original clip, Naidu was asked if the Telugu Desam Party (the party he leads), not YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, would come to power in Andhra Pradesh.
What is the claim?
A clip of Chandrababu Naidu, former chief minister of the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and leader of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader, where he is purportedly saying that incumbent Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will come back to power in the state is going viral on social media. The state went to the Assembly polls to elect members of the state legislature on May 13, alongside voting for the ongoing parliamentary elections.
The video is being shared on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook and shows a journalist supposedly asking Naidu if he thinks his rival, Jagan Reddy, will come back to power. He replies by saying, "Hundred percent." A post sharing the video read, "100 % YSJagan will come back to power 🔥✊- Chandrababu (sic)". Archived links to such posts can be accessed here, here, and here.
However, we found that the clip had been edited, and Naidu was actually replying to a different question.
What is the truth?
In the viral clip, multiple microphones of news channels, including that of the news agency ANI, are visible. Using this clue, we found an extended version of the video posted on ANI's official X account (archived here) on May 13. The video's caption quotes Naidu as saying, "It is our responsibility to cast our vote and demand a bright future. 100% (TDP will come to power in the state)". The video was shot after Naidu cast his vote in the polls in Guntur.
Towards the end of this video, the reporter can clearly be heard asking, "TDP will be back in the Andhra Pradesh, Sir ?." To this, Naidu replies by saying, "100 percent", not to a question about Reddy or his party, YSR Congress.
#WATCH | Guntur: After casting his vote, Former Andhra Pradesh CM and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu says, "It is our responsibility to cast our vote and demand a bright future. 100% (TDP will come to power in the state)"
— ANI (@ANI) May 13, 2024
Voting for Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections and the… pic.twitter.com/Jh8SXe1OP1
We also noticed that the audio levels in the viral clip shared online are inconsistent. The video was shot on the road, with several people around, meaning that the microphone would have picked up some ambient noise. However, when the reporter supposedly asks, "Sir sir, sir, Jagan will come back to power again?" the audio is very clear and has no background noise, but when Naidu starts speaking, there is a sudden noticeable increase in noise level, including ambient noise. This is an indication that the audio in the viral clip has been edited.
This establishes that Naidu was asked if TDP, not Reddy or YSRCP, would come to power in Andhra Pradesh.
The verdict
We have marked this video as fake as the audio has been manipulated to change the reporter's question. In reality, Naidu was asked if his party, TDP, would come to power in Andhra Pradesh, to which he replied, "100 percent."
This story was originally published by Logically Facts, as part of the Shakti Collective. Except for the headline and excerpt, this story has not been edited by ABPLIVE staff.
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