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 essential today than ever before.
Claim
Kantipur Daily apologised to Rabi Lamichhane.
Fact
Viral video shows an edited screenshot using verified X handle of Kantipur.
A video purportedly showing a social media post by Kantipur daily apologising to Rastriya Swatantra Party Chairperson Rabi Lamichhane saying that he is innocent in the embezzlement of cooperative funds, is being circulated on TikTok.
Earlier on December 25, Kantipur daily had reported that money deposited to Sudarshan Cooperative was transferred in the name of Gorkha Media Network which runs Galaxy 4K Television. Gitendra Babu Rai(GB) Rai, who has been absconding, is the chairperson of Gorkha Media. According to the article, a loan amounting to Rs 10 million was also issued in the name of Rastriya Swatantra Party Chairperson Rabi Lamichhane, who was the founding managing director of Galaxy Television. Lamichhane, however, has publicly denied the allegations, claiming that he never received the said loans.
Against this backdrop, TikTok user @prakash0ghimire posted a video carrying a screenshot of a X (formerly twitter) post from a verified handle of Kantipur daily. The post reads, “Rabi Lamichhane has not taken millions of rupees and he is innocent. We would like to apologise for all the posts regarding the issue so far. Thank you.” Voice-over accompanying the video says, “Here is some hot news. See the plight of the leading media of our country. First it assassinates someone’s character and later apologises over the same thing.” Text superimposed on the video reads, “No matter how hard you try, you can’t do anything. Nothing will happen [to Rabi Lamichhane] when he has not done anything and the people are on his side. The plight of the national daily.”
The video posted on January 23 has garnered 279 likes, 12 users have shared it and 27 people have commented until the time of publishing this article. The archived version of the TikTok video can be seen here.
Newschecker found the claim to be misleading.
Fact Check /Verification
To check the veracity of the claim made in the viral video, Newschecker searched for the news coverage by Kantipur media regarding Rabi Lamichhane’s alleged involvement in misappropriation of cooperatives and found an article titled ‘New evidence shows Lamichhne’s dishonest share deal’ published on Kathmndu Post online, English language sister publication of Kantitpur.Conclusion
On checking the news, we found that Kantipur, citing documents regarding the financial details of Gorkha Media Network and several cooperatives, reported that Lamichhane had purchased shares of Galaxy 4K TV by misusing people’s savings in various cooperatives. The amounts received by selling shares were transferred to his bank account when he quit the network, according to the report.
We, then, checked the social media posts of Kantipur including x (formerly twitter) but didn’t find any post matching the screenshot used in the viral video.
As we couldn’t verify the claim made in the viral video from any source, Newschecker reached out to online editor of Kantipur, Durga Khanal, who confirmed that the screenshot of the alleged post by Kantipur carried in the viral video is doctored and that Kantipur has not apologised for its posts regarding Rabi Lamichhane. “It wasn’t posted by Kantipur. It is a case of misuse of Kantipur’s logo.”
Thus, our findings clearly show that the screenshot carried in the viral video is edited.
Conclusion
No, Kantipur has not apologised to Rabi Lamichhane over its posts regarding his involvement in misappropriation of cooperative funds saying that he is innocent. The viral video is edited by misusing the verified logo of Kantipur.
Result: False
Sources
Kantipur, December 25, 2023
Kathmandu Post, January 23, 2024
Direct contact with Kantipur online editor Durga Khanal
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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 essential today than ever before.
