The only thing that is going around is the 2001 Boston airport fiasco, where the fake news media is portraying it exactly as you mentioned. But the fact is, he was detained in the airport simply because it was right after the 9/11 attacks when scrutiny was really high for any Asian or Middle Eastern travelers, and not for drug possession.
This is just one variation of the fake post that has been online for a while. You can easily find multiple similar variations of this situation, all featuring a fake newspaper clipping.
The image has been doing rounds on Whatsapp and Facebook for several years. Both AFP and BOOM pointed out that it is fake here:
1. The image is digitally generated using an online tool called fodey.com which allows users to create newspaper clippings.
2. The image refers to him as an “Indian politician”. In reality, he joined politics only in 2004.
3. The original report is published in The Hindu in September 2001 when he was taken into custody for questioning during tightened security checks in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in the US. He was reportedly questioned for about an hour. The report doesn’t make any mention of drugs.
4. The image is now being shared with a text that mentions the year to be “2021” and makes mention of Vajpayee helping him out of the situation. In reality, Vajpayee passed away in 2018.
5. No FIR or court order was shared. If there was one, someone must have shared it by now. Also, surely, it would have made news in US and we would find it in archives.
Social media posts are not evidences. It’s high time we stopped believing and forwarding such fake news irrespective of who is being targeted.
Fact check for anyone interested:
BOOM |
Factly
