FAKE NEWS- Aditya Thackeray has tested positive for HIV AIDS

The news that the Maharashtra’s environment and tourism minister Aditya Thackeray has contracted HIV AIDS is being shared on social media. By sharing a screenshot of the TV-Bharatvarsh news social media users claim that Maharashtra’s chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aditya Thackeray has tested positive for HIV AIDS.

Readers of Fact Crescendo requested a fact check by sending this screenshot on our WhatsApp factline number (9049053770). Through our investigation, we found that this news is false. This screenshot of TV-9 Bharatvarsh channel is morphed.

What is in the claim?

The screenshot of TV9 Bharatvarsha news stated that “CM Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aditya Thackeray has been tested HIV AIDS positive.” 

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Fact Check-

We started our investigation by running a keyword search on Google to find similar news reports about Aditya Thackeray testing positive for HIV AIDS.

With the help of another keyword search on Google we found a news report published by TV- Bharatvarsh on Youtube. On March 20, 2021, TV-9 Bharatvarsh reported that Aditya Thackeray had contracted COVID-19. A video of the news is available on their official YouTube channel. The original report said, “CM Uddhav K’s son Aditya Thackeray tested corona positive.” The news report made it clear that the viral screenshot on social  media is digitally altered.

The screenshot of this news was falsely altered with “HIV / AIDS” instead of “Coronavirus”. You can see a comparison image between the edited image and the original image below.

Aditya Thackeray himself tweeted on March 20 that he has tested positive for COVID-19. He tweeted, “My covid test came back positive. Everyone I come in contact with should be careful and tested. I urge everyone to wear a mask and take care of yourself and your family. ”

Conclusion- Fact Crescendo found the viral image on social media to be False. The viral screengrab claiming that Aditya Thackeray tested positive for HIV AIDS is digitally altered. The original screengrab mentions that Aditya Thackeray tested positive for COVID-19.