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| - Fact Check: Kiwi batsman Finn Allen's tweet mocking security in Pakistan is morphed
The screenshot of an apparent tweet made by New Zealand cricketer Finn Allen mocking security conditions in Pakistan went viral on social media. India Today Anti Fake News War Room checks the authenticity of the said tweet.
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India Today Fact Check
The tweet is morphed. Allen made no such tweet, and the New Zealand Cricket board has also confirmed the same. Allen was part of the NZ team that pulled out of a series in Pakistan over security concerns.
The New Zealand cricket team on September 17 called off its tour of Pakistan citing security reasons. Soon after, a tweet purportedly by the team’s batsman Finn Allen, mocking security conditions in Pakistan, went viral.
A Facebook user posted the screenshot of the apparent tweet that reads, “Pakistan is peaceful, safe and fully secured. Even Laden was living peacefully in Pakistan after clearing thousands.”
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the said tweet was morphed. Allen made no such tweet, and the New Zealand Cricket board has also confirmed the same. Allen was part of the Kiwi team that pulled out of the tour in Pakistan.
The archived versions of similar posts can be seen here, here, and here.
AFWA probe
Allen’s Twitter handle is @FinnAllen32, the same one as seen in the screenshot. However, while the date on the screenshot says September 17, 2021, Allen’s last tweet according to his handle was made on August 4.
We then tried to find whether any archived version of the tweet exists. On Wayback Machine, we found that Allen’s Twitter handle was archived just once on June 2.
We then tried an advance keyword search on Twitter. It yielded only one result that might be a reply to the viral tweet attributed to Allen.
Embed:
@FinnAllen32 where is the comment...that I am here to like — EntrancedGauntlet (@savio_dcosta399) September 18, 2021
However, from this tweet, it is clear that even this person could not find the viral tweet on Allen’s handle.
Where was Finn Allen at the time of the ‘tweet’?
Allen was part of the Black Caps crew touring Pakistan, and on September 17, he was scheduled to make his debut in Rawalpindi.
However, post-cancellation of the tour, Allen, along with his teammates, landed in Dubai on the afternoon of September 18.
The date and time of the tweet mentioned in the screenshot is September 17, 4.33 pm. This means if Allen had actually made the tweet, he did it while in Pakistan, which is unlikely.
To further confirm the matter, we got in touch with the New Zealand Cricket board, which clarified that Allen had not posted the tweet.
Replying to a mail from AFWA, James Bennett, the communications manager at New Zealand Cricket, said, “No such tweet was sent by Finn. The one going around on social media was a fabrication.”
Hence, we can conclude that the alleged tweet by Kiwi batsman Finn Allen, mocking the security conditions in Pakistan, is morphed.
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