A few days ago, the internet was abuzz with activity as the name Mohit Pandey was announced as the priest chosen to serve at the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. Mohit Pandey, having studied for seven years at Dudheshwar Vedic University in Ghaziabad, obtained his Shastri degree equivalent to a Bachelor’s. He furthered his education at Shri Venkateshwara Vedic University, earning a master’s degree in Samaveda, showcasing expertise in the Ramanandi tradition, Vedas, Shastras, and Sanskrit, qualifying him for his role as a priest at the Ram Lalla Temple in Ayodhya.
Following this, some morphed images of the priest started circulating on the social media platform. It was later discovered that these were deepfake images shared by Gujarat Congress leader Hiten Pithadiya on 11 December 2023. Subsequently, Pithadiya was arrested by Ahmedabad Police for sharing inappropriate images, falsely portraying a porn actor as the newly appointed priest. The Uttar Pradesh police have also taken action against Pithadiya for spreading malicious content targeting the Ram Mandir priest, Mohit Pandey.
प्रिय @Uppolice @ayodhya_police @igrangeayodhya उक्त हितेंद्र नामक व्यक्ति हमारे राम मंदिर के लिए चुने गए पुजारी के ख़िलाफ़ किसी साजिश के तहत फर्जी फोटो उनके बता कर वायरल करके एक प्रॉपगेंडा फैला कर उनको बदनाम कर रहा हैं एंव हम सभी सनातनियों की धार्मिक भावनाओं को आहत कर रहा हैं,… pic.twitter.com/lvFcAeB6jc
— Avkush Singh (@AvkushSingh) December 11, 2023
The posts made by Pithadiya were deleted however the damage was done. Not wanting to be left far behind, Dravidian Stockists started sharing the same debunked images over and over again. Some even used vulgar hashtags linking it to the BJP.
A Dravidian stockist, Shanmugam Chinnaraj made a very obscene post with those images.
It was fact-checked by an independent fact-checking organisation named Only Truth. They wrote, “#FactCheck : DMK is spreading fake news by posting a fake picture of Ayodhya temple priest with some girl… In our search it is revealed that someone has taken a private video of a boy (pic 1) and is spreading fake news that it is Mohit Pandey who is selected for the job of priest in Ayodhya Ram temple..
While many people have been arrested including the leader of UP Congress born wing who spread fake news about Ayodhya Ram temple priest (pic 2) .. Ayodhya Police has already warned that strict action will be taken if this fake news is spread, now DMK is arrogantly doing the same thing .. Dear @Uppolice @ayodhya_police @igrangeayodhya @AmitShah @CMOfficeUP @UPGovt Please File FIR Against @shanmugamchin10 and arrest him for spreading fake news”
#FactCheck : அயோத்தி கோயில் அர்ச்சகர் எதோ பெண்ணுடன் இருப்பது போல போலி படத்தை போட்டு போலி செய்தி பரப்பும் திமுகவினர் …
நம்முடைய தேடலில் யாரோ ஒரு பையனின் அந்தரங்க வீடியோவை (pic 1) எடுத்து வந்து அது அயோத்தி ராமர் கோவில் அர்ச்சகர் பணிக்கு தேர்வாகியிருக்கும் மோஹித் பாண்டே என்று… https://t.co/xE2o9s0Zw1 pic.twitter.com/2N9osYIIke
— Only Truth (@OnlyTruth2024) December 13, 2023
Following this, Shanmugam deleted his tweets. However, he retweeted posts made by other Dravidian stockists.
Other DMK supporters, Congress supporters and Dravidian Stocks too shared the fake morphed images claiming it to be Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi Temple’s priest.
ராமர் கோவில் அர்ச்சகராக ஆக இவனுக்கு 10 பொருத்தமும் பக்காவா இருக்கே. ஐயர் நல்லவர் என்பதை ருசித்துப் பார்க்கிறார்😀 pic.twitter.com/7Bn9i9CWhM
— க.கணேசன்.🖤❤️ (@GDiyash) December 13, 2023
https://twitter.com/JaganVikram2/status/1734853677050175619/photo/1
பூசாரி வரம் கொடுத்த பொழுது
😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/pdgXyL7PwM
— Prabakaran Mani (@MPrabakar7) December 13, 2023
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