Journalist Navin Kumar video shared as the last interview of late Aaj Tak journalist Rohit Sardana - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 4, 2021
A video is being shared on social media claiming it as the last interview video of the late Aaj Tak journalist, Rohit Sardana. This video shows a reporter breaking down while explaining the COVID-19 crisis in India. Aaj Tak news channel senior journalist Rohit Sardana passed away due to a massive cardiac arrest on 30 April 2021. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Last interview video of late Aaj Tak journalist Rohit Sardana.
Fact: This video shows an independent journalist Navin Kumar, not the late Aaj Tak journalist Rohit Sardana. Navin Kumar, a journalist from ‘Article 19’ organization, got emotional in the video while explaining the Government’s failure in handling the COVID-19 crisis in the country. This video has nothing to do with the late Aaj Tak senior journalist Rohit Sardana. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the screenshots in the video, an extended version of this video was found on the ‘Article 19’ Facebook page. The same visuals in the post can be observed from 1:52 minutes of this video.  This video was published with the title, ‘A talk with Dr. Manish Jangra RMLH Founder FAIMA Doctors Association and Dr. Sonu Kumar Bhardwaj LHMC on India’s health condition & VIP Culture In Hospitals’. This person in the video introduces himself as Navin Kumar, an independent journalist working at ‘Article 19’ in Delhi. In the video, Navin Kumar got emotional while explaining the Government’s failure in handling the COVID-19 crisis in the country.
Hindi news portal ‘Bolta Hindustan’ shared the same video on their Twitter handle. In the tweet, they reported it as the visuals of journalist Navin Kumar, questioning the Government for the present COVID-19 crisis in the country.
पत्रकार नवीन कुमार ने बीमार दशा में की दर्दनाक अपील- सरकार से सवाल करो, वही जिम्मेदार है।
सुनें: मंदिर-मस्जिद और हिंदू-मुस्लिम की राजनीति पर क्या बोले @navinjournalist
(Part 2) pic.twitter.com/j11HqKlUtt
On comparing the photos of Aaj Tak journalist Rohit Sardana and the journalist in the video, it can be confirmed that the person breaking down in the video is not the late Aaj Tak journalist Rohit Sardana.
BOOM, an independent fact-checking organization had contacted Dr. Sonu Kumar Bharadwaj, one of the doctors who was interviewed by journalist Navin Kumar in the video. Speaking to BOOM, Dr. Sonu Kumar said, “Yes, we know his video is going viral with false claims. The video was recorded by my friend Naveen Kumar and in fact, I am one of the doctors he’s interviewing in the video. He is currently stable but in the ICU. I would request people to not share the video with any fake news around it”. The clarification issued by Dr. Sonu Kumar Bharadwaj could be found in the fact-check article published by BOOM.
To sum it up, a video of journalist Navin kumar is shared as the last interview video of the late Aaj Tak journalist Rohit Sardana.