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| - Fact Check: HAL's tweet contradicting defence minister is fake
Did the country's premiere defence and aerospace company, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), publicly contradict Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Twitter about the Rafale aircraft and its ongoing controversy?
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India Today Fact Check
India Today Fact Check team found that the Twitter account @ HAL_India impersonating HAL was made as recently as this month.
Did the country's premiere defence and aerospace company, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), publicly contradict Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Twitter about the Rafale aircraft and its ongoing controversy?
Many people seem to believe this inference of a tweet by @HAL_India that said, "Those who are saying HAL is not capable of producing Rafale jets should know what we at Hal have produced." This was in reply to a PTI tweet which quoted Sitharaman questioning the "required capability" of HAL for manufacturing Rafale.
PTI tweeted, "Deal for procurement of 126 Rafale jets under UPA fell through as HAL did not have required capability to produce them: Nirmala Sitharaman @DefenceMinIndia"
India Today Fact Check found that this is a fake account impersonating HAL. But thousands were taken for a ride by this fake Twitter handle which has nothing to do with HAL. It is important to note that the fake account uses the logo of HAL in its profile, but the description says "HAL Enthusiast and Unofficial Account". Clearly, most of the people did not notice this description.
Celebrities such as Bollywood playback singer and composer Caralisa Monteiro got tricked by this fake tweet and she also shared the post.
@nsitharaman what do you have to say about this ? Or has @HAL_India become anti - national ? pic.twitter.com/WwSz4C7PBl Caralisa Monteiro (@runcaralisarun) September 19, 2018
YouTuber Dhruv Rathee had also posed the same tweet on his Facebook page. When we reached out to him on Twitter for his reaction, he put up an apology on his page admitting his mistake.
Facebook pages like Feku Express 2.0, known for political propaganda and with a follower of more than 3 lakh people, posted this tweet with a caption: "HAL stand up for itself".
India Today Fact Check team found that the Twitter account @ HAL_India impersonating HAL was made as recently as this month. The casual language and the type of content in its earlier tweets indicate that it cannot be the Twitter account of a government organisation. We contacted the PRO of HAL who confirmed that the Twitter handle in question is fake. The PRO said the original Twitter handle of HAL is @HALHQBLR. In fact, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited @ HALHQBLR has also issued an advisory and lodged a formal complaint for impersonating HAL's official handle and spreading misinformation.
It has come to our notice that Twitter handle @HAL_India impersonates our this official handle @HALHQBLR. A formal complaint has already been lodged with Twitter. All are requested to take a note of this. @DefProdnIndia @drajaykumar_ias @DefenceMinIndia @SpokespersonMoD HAL (@HALHQBLR) September 20, 2018
After HAL warned about this impersonator, the fake Twitter account @HAL_India changed its name from 'Hindustan Aeronautics Limited' to 'Hindustan aeronautics Limited (Parody)'.
Those who are saying that HAL is not capable of producing Rafale jets should know what we at HAL have produced
? MiG-21
? MiG-27
? Jaguar
? Hawk
? Sukhoi-30
? Dornier 228
V hv also produced
?? Light combat helicopter
?? Light utility helicopter
?? Chetak
?? Dhruv
?? Rudra pic.twitter.com/SNlJ5lm92h Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (@HAL_India) September 18, 2018
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