Logically Facts Check: A photo is rapidly going viral on social media, about which it is being claimed that film actress and BJP leader Kangana Ranaut has got a photo clicked with gangster Abu Salem. Users on social media are making all kinds of comments about this photo of Kangana Ranaut. But the truth is something else. The person seen in the photo is a former journalist, not convicted gangster Abu Salem.
Many users have shared this photo to highlight the connection between Kangana Ranaut and 1993 Mumbai blast convict Abu Salem. Abu Salem is currently serving a life sentence in jail. The viral photo had a text that read, “Andhbhakton ki didi, spending some memorable moments with Abu Salem..”
Fact Check
Logically Facts ’s fact check team fact-checked this viral photo on multiple levels. Several news sites have reported on Kangana Ranaut’s recent clarification on Instagram, stating that her photo with a former journalist Mark Manuel has been shared as her photo with gangster Abu Salem.
Taking this clue, we did a Google search for ‘Mark Manuel’ and checked his Instagram and Facebook accounts. Investigation revealed that Mark Manuel is a former editor of the Times of India. He has also worked as a journalist for Mid-Day. He has also worked as a columnist for Hindustan Times and HuffPost.
Mark Manuel had shared the now viral picture on his official Instagram account on September 15, 2017 with the caption- “Kangana Ranaut… Love, Sex and Betrayal. Read it on my Facebook page.” He had also shared the same picture on Facebook on the same day. In the caption, Mark Manuel wrote that the picture was taken a few months ago at the Corner House in Khar. He had written, “This was at a champagne brunch to celebrate Kangana’s film ‘Simran’ which is releasing today.”
Further investigation of his Facebook account revealed that Manuel had shared a post with the same photo along with several other screenshots of some news headlines in October 2023. Investigation revealed that the relevant photo had gone viral with the same claim in 2023 as well.
In a clarification below the photo, Manuel points out that a photo of Kangana Ranaut with him from a 2017 Huffington Post article was circulated by several Congress members, claiming that she was sitting with gangster Abu Salem. He further added that Ranaut immediately dismissed the claim, pointing out that Salem has been in jail since 2002.
(This story was originally published by Logically FactsFact Check Desk, as part of the Shakti Collective. Except for the headline/excerpt/opening introduction para this story has not been edited by News18india.com staff)
Tags: Himachal Pradesh news, Kangana Ranaut, Lok Sabha Elections, mandi news
FIRST PUBLISHED : May 29, 2024, 20:54 IST