Fact Check: Ajit Anjum did not tweet he will leave journalism if BJP comes back to power in UP
India Today
A screenshot is being circulated on social media with the claim that it shows senior journalist Ajit Anjum stating that he would leave journalism if the BJP returns to power in Uttar Pradesh.
The voters of Uttar Pradesh head to the polling booths for the first phase of Assembly elections in a few days. Social media is abuzz with heated campaigns by political parties. A lot of misinformation is also passed over these platforms as the voting day draw closer.
In the latest, a tweet, purportedly by senior journalist Ajit Anjum is circulated on social media where he claims to leave journalism if BJP comes back to power in UP.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the tweet circulated as Ajit Anjum's is fake. The journalist himself told us that he has not made any such announcement on Twitter.
According to the screenshot in circulation, Ajit Anjum made the tweet on January 31, 2022.
We checked Ajit Anjum's tweets from his official handle (@ajitanjum) n this date but couldn't find it. We also checked the archived version of the tweet in question on the web archiving tool "Wayback Machine". However, none of the Tweets made by Ajit Anjum on January 31 or the adjacent days was available in the archives.
Also, as per the screenshot, Ajit Anjum made the tweet from a verified Twitter handle. However, the official handle of Ajit Anjum -- which has over 1.2 million followers is not verified. Ajit's Twitter followers include several political leaders and journalists.
For further clarity, we further reached out to Ajit Anjum. Speaking to AFWA, the journalist said, "A few days back some social media handles were claiming that I have announced to leave journalism if Yogi Adityanath comes back to power in UP. Now, a fake screenshot of a tweet is in circulation claiming that I will leave my profession if BJP comes back to power in UP. All these are absurd. I have never made any such remarks. Also, my Twitter handle @ajitanjum is not verified. However, the fake screenshot in circulation has a verification tick mark."
