27 January 2024
On the 75th Republic Day celebrations, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin presented the state’s Communal Harmony Award to Mohammed Zubair, the fact-checker and co-founder of AltNews. The award was given “in recognition of his contribution to the prevention of violence” by debunking claims on social media regarding alleged attacks on migrant workers in Tamil Nadu.
After verifying the reality of videos, AltNews found that the claims were false, thus halting the spread of rumors against the Tamil Nadu government. “Thus, he stopped the spread of rumors against Tamil Nadu and acted to prevent violence caused by caste, religion, race, and language,” the citation read.
Zubair shared a thread on March 3, 2023, addressing the false claims: “IMPORTANT THREAD! There are several scaremongering tweets & videos viral with a false claim that Hindi-speaking migrant workers from Bihar are being attacked in Tamil Nadu. Many news channels misreported with similar misleading claims. @NitishKumar @bihar_police @tnpoliceoffl”
Zubair expressed gratitude after receiving the award: “Didn’t know this thread and multiple fact checks by my team debunking dangerous Fake News related to Migrant workers from Bihar in Tamil Nadu would be recognized by the government. Thank you, everyone… Very happy that our work at @AltNews is recognized, appreciated, and celebrated. Congratulations to all my team members and thank you to all the well-wishers for the trust and support.”
In 2000, the Tamil Nadu government established the Kottai Ameer Communal Harmony Award, intending to nurture community unity. The award is given to those who have stood for the state in maintaining and preserving communal harmony. It includes a medal, a cash prize of Rs 25,000, and a certificate. The government mentioned that Zubair is from Denkanikottai taluka in Krishnagiri district.
