Shashi Tharoor clean bowled by the fake news googly

The strengthening of the wonderland, we know as the internet has come with its own perils. Cyber crimes, identity theft, money laundering and a cohort of abominable crimes have haunted the existence of this fantastic invention. One peril, however, is under a lot of spotlight these days. We are talking about fake news. After the massive Facebook data scandal, Mark Zuckerberg’s biggest concern is to combat the issue of fake news and data theft effectively. It seems our very own Shashi Tharoor who is known for his impeccable articulation skills also could not save himself from the booby trap of fake news. His tweet on Saturday night read,

Remarkable: India's RaghuramRajan has been appointed Governor of the Bank of England! https://t.co/xdIop5Ltuv With an Indian (NasserHusain) having captained the England cricket team already, all that's left to complete a reverse colonization is for an Indian to be Prime Minister.

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 5, 2018

Shashi Tharoor on his official Twitter account gushed about the appointment of Dr. Raghuram Rajan as the governor of the Bank of England. His excited stance about “reverse colonization” could be a reality if an Indian were to become the prime minister of the United Kingdom as per his tweet. However, the euphoria of turning the colonization tables upside down was short-lived, as, within a couple of hours, Tharoor realized he was lured by the digital vice we call fake news.

Seems I was taken in by fake news too. Thanks @AltNews for setting the record straight. https://t.co/fuELbzPeiJ https://t.co/NwzUya075r

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 5, 2018

Twitter, as always, was divided on this rollback of information. While some lauded the Congress MP of acknowledging his mistake, others branded him as another “Pappu” for not checking on his facts before broadcasting them online.

Raghuram Rajan, the former RBI governor has been a strong contender for leading the Bank of England. Financial Times, a leading newspaper in the UK, had reported the same a few days back.

Comments