May 18th 2024.
Let's take a closer look at a recent claim that has been circulating on social media. According to some posts, an exit poll by Indian news channel Times Now has predicted a victory for the Telugu Desam Party in the 2024 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections. However, upon fact-checking, we found that this claim is actually false.
The screenshot being shared on social media is a manipulated image, which has been edited to create the illusion of an exit poll. In reality, no such results have been released by Times Now or any other legitimate source. This can be confirmed by checking Times Now's social media accounts and website, where no data has been published for the 2024 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections.
A reverse image search revealed that the original image was actually a screenshot of an exit poll for the 2021 Uttar Pradesh elections, which was published by Times Now on November 16, 2021. The image had been altered to show Andhra Pradesh as the state and ETG as the research partner, instead of the original Polstrat. Even the result numbers and parties were changed to fit the context of Andhra Pradesh's Assembly polls.
It is important to note that while ETG is indeed associated with Times Now, they have only released seat share projections for the Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh on April 4, 2024. This was a pre-poll survey conducted prior to the Election Commission of India's ban on exit poll results.
In fact, ETG themselves clarified on May 7, 2024, that their predictions for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections will only be released on June 1, in accordance with the ECI guidelines. This has also been confirmed by Logically Facts, who have previously debunked similar claims about fake exit polls for various elections in India.
According to the guidelines released by the Election Commission on April 19, 2024, there is a ban on releasing exit polls from April 19, 7:00 a.m. to June 1, 6:30 p.m. This is in accordance with Section 126A of the R.P. Act 1951, which prohibits the conduct and dissemination of exit polls during this period.
In conclusion, the viral screenshot claiming to show exit poll results for the 2024 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections is a fabricated image, and the original source is an exit poll for the 2021 Uttar Pradesh elections. This story was originally published by Logically Facts and republished by OrissaPOST as part of the Shakti Collective. It's important to fact-check information before sharing it on social media to avoid spreading false or misleading claims.
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