An old video of an MTV Roadies (an Indian reality television series) audition clip has gone viral on social media with the claim that the contestant was CJP founder Abhijit Dipke. In the footage, we can see the judge of the TV show, Raghu Ram, yelling at the participant and kicking him out. Abhijeet Dipke is an Indian activist, political communication strategist, and the founder of the viral Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) who formerly worked with the Aam Aadmi Party.
Let’s check the truth.
Fact check:
We conducted a keyword search on Google, whose results led us to an Instagram post of former MTV Roadies judge Raghu Ram. He posted a video statement addressing the viral claim directly. He dismissed the speculation as absolute fake news, stating that he has never even met Abhijeet Dipke in his entire life.
Moving forward, we found a Dainik Bhaskar English report also about this. The report states, “With direct clarification, Raghu Ram has firmly put the internet rumours to rest. He further said that attempts are being made to confuse people by spreading such misinformation. He also criticised those who are promoting this claim. Shortly after the video went live, Abhijeet Dipke joined in on the amusement, pinning a humorous comment on Raghu’s reel that read, “I was in school back then.”
Next, we conducted a reverse image search on Google and found an extended version of the audition by a Facebook account named The Crazy Wave. According to the video, the name of the man who is auditioning is Sumit.
Using these hints, we conducted further searches and discovered a video uploaded on 11 January, 2012, by a man named Sumit Suryawanshi on YouTube. In this video, he discusses his experience on Roadies and shares the same visuals found in the original video.
This evidence makes it clear that the viral video does not feature CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke.
Conclusion
Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the video to be Misleading. The contestant featured in the old footage is Sumit Suryawanshi not Abhijeet Dipke.
Title: This video does not show Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke’s MTV Roadies audition.
Fact Check By: Usha Manoj
Result: Misleading
