Sanjeeb Phuyal is the Nepali Editor of Newschecker based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He brings over a decade of experience writing and editing news. In his previous stint, he worked as online editor for The Kathmandu Post. With the growth of social media platforms—and the ever-growing competition amongst media outlets to churn out breaking news, he feels that fact-checking every piece of information has become more essential today than ever before.
Claim
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli underwent dialysis at TU Teaching Hospital after his transplanted kidney failed.
Fact
Viral video shows old images of KP Sharma Oli.
A video claiming that Prime Minister and Chairman of CPN-UML KP Sharma Oli underwent dialysis after his transplanted kidney stopped functioning is going viral on TikTok. The video also claims that the prime minister was discharged from Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital after his dialysis.
KP Sharma Oli had undergone a successful second kidney transplant at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in March 2020 when he was serving as prime minister in his earlier stint.
TikTok user @govindachhetrii posted a video carrying photos of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in hospital bed allegedly after his kidney failed. Text superimposed on the video reads, “Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s kidney failed only a few years after it was transplanted. He was discharged from Teaching Hospital after a dialysis and sent to his official residence in Baluwatar.” The video caption reads, “Oh God! What is happening in Nepal? Recently there was a plane crash and again Prime Minister KP Oli’s kidney failed only a few years after it was transplanted.”
The video posted on August 11 has garnered 343 likes and two users have shared it.
Newschecker found the claim to be misleading.
Fact Check /Verification
To check the authenticity of the claim made in the viral video, Newschecker split the video into several key frames and conducted reverse searches on them. A Google reverse search on a key-frame led us to an article, dated December 4, 2019, published on Onlinekhabar. The image carried in the article titled ‘Hospital prepares to discharge PM Oli’ exactly matched a frame-carried in the viral video.
On checking the article, we found that the image showed Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli with a medical team of Manmohan Cardiothoracic Vascular and Transplant Centre, in Kathmandu after he underwent an operation for appendicitis in December 2019.
Further, a reverse search on another frame led us to an article, dated September November 27, 2019, and published on Setopati online. The photo carried in the article exactly matched a frame on the viral video.
We also checked the verified Facebook account of KP Sharma Oli and found a photo of a recent Cabinet meeting presided over by PM Oli posted earlier in the day. We also found an article dated August 13, 2024, published on My Republica, Prime Minister Oli actively attended the meeting with US Ambassador Rob Fenn.
Thus, our findings clearly indicate that the viral video shows old images of Prime Minister Oli.
Conclusion
No, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli neither had a dialysis nor his transplanted kidney failed. The images carried in the viral video are old, and thus misleading.
Result: False
Sources
Onlinekhabar, Dec 4, 2019
Setopati.com, Nov 27, 2019
Annapurna Times, Sept 4, 2021
My Republica, August 13, 2024
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Sanjeeb Phuyal is the Nepali Editor of Newschecker based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He brings over a decade of experience writing and editing news. In his previous stint, he worked as online editor for The Kathmandu Post. With the growth of social media platforms—and the ever-growing competition amongst media outlets to churn out breaking news, he feels that fact-checking every piece of information has become more essential today than ever before.
