3 min readNew DelhiApr 4, 2018 01:17 PM IST
First published on: Apr 4, 2018 at 05:54 AM IST
Also, it now transpires that BlueKraft and The True Picture share personnel as well. Two women, who mentioned they worked for BlueKraft on their LinkedIn profiles, have appeared in several videos for The True Picture discussing latest news and policies related to the government. (Express Photo by Vishal Srivastav)
A day after The Indian Express reported that a website which 13 Union Ministers linked to for allegedly busting fake news shared a common landline phone number with BlueKraft Digital Foundation, the “technology and knowledge” partner of Exam Warriors, the book by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the registrant of the website, http://www.thetruepicture.in, changed the phone number. The landline number was replaced by a purported cell number which didn’t work.
Also, it now transpires that BlueKraft and The True Picture share personnel as well. Two women, who mentioned they worked for BlueKraft on their LinkedIn profiles, have appeared in several videos for The True Picture discussing latest news and policies related to the government.
When asked about this Akhilesh Mishra, CEO of BlueKraft, said: “The two people you mention may have been apparently contributing to this website in their personal, voluntary capacity. We do not limit people working for us as to what they do in their personal time and in voluntary capacity as long as it is for constructive purpose.”
Both the women removed the reference to BlueKraft from their LinkedIn profiles soon after The Indian Express sent the email to Mishra. However, the videos featuring them were available on The True Picture’s YouTube channel.
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Mishra has served as digital director of MyGov, the government’s citizen engagement platform. He was also a member of Narendra Modi’s 2014 election campaign. BlueKraft was founded by Rajesh Jain and Hitesh Jain in 2016. Rajesh Jain, a former part-time member of the Unique Identification Authority of India, was also a member of Modi’s campaign for the 2014 general elections.
Read more | Look who is busting fake news for 13 Ministers: site with Exam Warriors link
Responding to questions sent by The Indian Express, Rajesh Jain had said he had quit BlueKraft and UIDAI and as an independent director of NTPC in October 2017. Mishra, when contacted on Monday had denied that BlueKraft had any relation to The True Picture. “We don’t run it,” he said. Asked about BlueKraft and The True Picture sharing the same number, Mishra had said, “This must be some mix-up.”
Of the four reports mentioned in The True Picture article titled, “Four major Fake News Stories Busted,” the website called two by The Indian Express fake. Both these reports were based on official documents — an FIR and notes written by the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary.
Also, it now transpires that BlueKraft and The True Picture share personnel as well. Two women, who mentioned they worked for BlueKraft on their LinkedIn profiles, have appeared in several videos for The True Picture discussing latest news and policies related to the government. (Express Photo by Vishal Srivastav)
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