MLA Suresh Kumar, Do You Have No Accountability?
BJP MLA S. Suresh Kumar of Rajajinagar constituency in Bengaluru city shared a picture today with the caption “This is the importance of Jan Aushadhi Kendra.” That picture is right in front of you. The caption claims: “An American woman stated that she was shocked to see that the same medicine which costs around 86,000 rupees in America was available for just 2,150 rupees in India.”
Fundamentally, the question before us is to know whether the information in the picture shared by MLA Suresh Kumar is true or false. When fact-checked, the information in this post turns out to be completely false!
The foreign woman seen holding a pill in her hand in the picture is not American. She is Anastasia Zhilenkova, a Russian citizen, YouTuber, and video creator.
Anastasia Zhilenkova has nowhere mentioned anything about India’s Jan Aushadhi Kendra or that a medicine costing Rs 86,000 in America was found for Rs 2,150 in India. Originally, in one of her videos, she had expressed general appreciation stating that compared to foreign countries, medicines and supplements like Omega-3 and vitamins available in Indian pharmacies (medical stores) are available at very cheap prices and are of good quality.
A screenshot of Anastasia Zhilenkova’s video has been used, and a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a banner of Jan Aushadhi Kendra have been digitally edited and attached to it. A fabricated story claiming that a medicine costing Rs 86,000 in America was found for just Rs 2,150 here has been spread as fake news. This is precisely why no specific medicine name is mentioned in the picture.
A question also arises as to why MLA S. Suresh Kumar, who is widely known as a gentleman politician, shares such posts and then deletes them? Perhaps his Facebook account is being handled by someone else. Even if it is handled by others, shouldn’t it be brought to the MLA’s attention immediately? Whether it is brought to his attention or not, the responsibility of answering to the people ultimately lies with the MLA.
Earlier, the same Suresh Kumar had shared fake news with an edited fake picture claiming, “When Siddaramaiah was the Chief Minister, he unveiled his own statue.” Later, upon realizing it was fake, he deleted it. Similarly, he has shared and deleted fake news two or three times.
MLA Suresh Kumar is not someone who behaves arrogantly. He has a reputation as a good politician. Because of this, his followers share the news he posts without realizing it is fake. This particular fake news about the medicine has been shared more than 700 times. This means many of the readers have believed it to be true. Consequently, the accountability for misleading them lies squarely with MLA Suresh Kumar. Therefore, shouldn’t he—who bears the responsibility of being answerable to the people—verify any news before speaking about it or sharing it on social media? Share your opinions in the blog’s comment box.