The moment when even Shashi Tharoor didn't check facts
What's the story
Shashi Tharoor, like many others, felt proud on learning former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan was appointed as governor of Bank of England. Only, Rajan's appointment news is false and he is happy in his current job. He confirmed the same to Alt News. Without checking facts, Tharoor shared a story by a daily on Twitter, congratulated Rajan, and said reverse colonialization isn't a far-fetched dream.
Twitter Post
Read what Shashi Tharoor tweeted
Remarkable: India's RaghuramRajan has been appointed Governor of the Bank of England! https://t.co/xdIop5Ltuv With an Indian (NasserHusain) having captained the England cricket team already, all that's left to complete a reverse colonization is for an Indian to be Prime Minister.
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 5, 2018
How it started
The beginning of false news
A week ago, a Facebook user, Satprakash Sharma shared Rajan's photo with a caption, "Congratulating Mr. Raghuram Rajan, elected as Governor for Bank of England. And, as usual, whatever we Indians have with us, the value of those things is recognized by foreigners and they take it away." The post was widely shared with many congratulating Rajan, and feeling proud at the same time.
Details
No smoke without fire: Why the post was believable
Grapevine was abuzz that Rajan is being considered for the esteemed position at Bank of England. A London daily wrote, "Attracting Raghuram Rajan, highly respected Chicago-based economist and former Reserve Bank of India governor, would be a coup." Rajan cleared the air by saying, "Sorry, but this is fake news. I am happy with my current job and have not searched for, nor got, any other."