The power of social media in disseminating information across the globe is well-established, but it also serves as a breeding ground for misinformation. On Tuesday, legendary Indian singer Asha Bhosle inadvertently became a victim of spreading false information, a situation reminiscent of former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag’s experience almost a year ago. Amid India’s captivating journey in China for the 2023 Asian Games, Bhosle shared a video of an Indian athlete winning a gold medal. The video quickly went viral on social media. However, it was soon revealed that the athlete in question, Jyothi Yarraji, had achieved this feat over two months earlier in an entirely separate competition.
Bhosle had shared a video of the 100m hurdles race, where Yarraji had emerged victorious, congratulating the athlete for her gold medal win at the Asian Games. In reality, Yarraji had secured this achievement on July 14th of the same year at the Asian Athletics Championships. This marked Yarraji’s maiden triumph at the top of the podium in a significant international event. The 23-year-old athlete, who held the national record with a time of 12.82 seconds and had previously won gold in the National Inter-State Championships in June, clinched India’s first gold medal in the event with a timing of 13.09 seconds. She surpassed two Japanese runners, Terada Asuka (13.13s) and Aoki Masumi (13.26s), on a rain-soaked track at the Supachalasai Stadium.
In her post, Bhosle exclaimed, “Heartiest congratulations to Yaraaji from Andhra Pradesh for winning the Gold for 100m hurdles at the Asian Games,” as the video went viral, prompting numerous others to extend their congratulations to the athlete.
However, prominent Indian cricketers Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman also fell victim to the false information. While Laxman did correctly mention the event, Gambhir’s post implied that the athlete had secured the gold medal on the morning of Tuesday. Both cricketers shared the same video as Bhosle. Laxman’s caption read, “Where there is a will, There is a Way. Father a Security Guard and Mother a sweeper. India’s first Women’s Gold medal at Asian Athletics Championship in 100mtr hurdles, Meet Yaraaji from Andhra. Great show!!!! Congratulations!”
This incident highlights the potential for misinformation to spread rapidly on social media platforms and underscores the importance of verifying information before sharing it with a wide audience.