Fact Check: Images of liquor bottles in huge vessels are NOT relating to Munugode bypoll
An image of huge vessels filled with liquor bottles soaked in ice is being shared relating to the Munugode elections. Political consultant Nikhitha Cheeti shared this image with the claim “Picture from #Munugode constituency which is going to polls next week, in a historic by-election. Liquor for votes - Indian democracy’s new normal.
Bypoll for the Munugode Assembly constituency in Telangana's Nalgonda district is scheduled to be held on November 3. There are allegations that leaders of various political parties are distributing money and liquor to the voters to lure them.
An image of huge vessels filled with liquor bottles soaked in ice is being shared relating to the Munugode elections. Political consultant Nikhitha Cheeti shared this image with the claim "Picture from #Munugode constituency which is going to polls next week, in a historic by-election. Liquor for votes - Indian democracy's new normal. #Beerocracy"
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The tweet by Nikhitha Cheeti was retweeted by Robin Zaccheus with the caption "Democracy is drowned in Liquor & Money Power! We are indeed in a dangerous situation. People should Vote to the party/candidate who doesn't offer liquor & money. The one who has a proven track record in Social service. Not any tom, dick & harry."
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Fact Check:
The claim is FALSE. The image is an old one.
When we ran Google reverse image search, we found that the image was posted online in 2016. A few social media posts were found with captions that the images shared are from Bihar and that they are visuals from a gangster daughter's marriage.
The viral image was shared along with other images that show brides loaded with golden ornaments and guns in their hands. Other images also show people having a feast while holding guns in their hands.
A user shared the viral image in October 2016 along with another image showing bundles of currency notes.
All these images were also shared by a user on Imgur on May 27, 2016, with the caption "Meanwhile in India".
Hence, the claim that the image shared shows distribution of liquor among voters in Munugode, where Assembly elections are scheduled soon is FALSE. The image is an old one posted online in 2016.
