Several social media posts (here, here, & here), accompanied by a message allegedly claiming to be written by ‘Julio Ribeiro’, a retired IPS officer who served as police commissioner of Mumbai and DGP to the states of Punjab and Gujarat, are being widely shared across social media platforms. In the viral message, we can see ‘Julio Ribeiro’ chiding Prime Minister Modi for repeatedly asserting that for 60 years, the Congress party and the Gandhi family had done nothing for the country. Through this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: A post written by ‘Julio Ribeiro,’ chiding PM Modi for repeatedly stating that the Congress party and the Gandhi family had done nothing for the country over the course of 60 years.
Fact: This viral message was not written by ‘Julio Riberio’, as confirmed by Julio Riberio himself in an article published by the Indian Express on 09 March 2019. In the article, he also mentioned that he became a victim of fake news, which was factually correct. Julio Ribeiro has also stated that he largely agrees with the contents of the post. He said, while it is true that Modi’s government has accelerated the development agenda in many spheres and has accomplished a lot of beneficial work that could have been done earlier, however, it is not true that earlier governments did nothing progressive for the country. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
To verify the authenticity of the viral claim, we conducted a relevant keyword search on the internet. This search led us to an article titled “The fake news is correct,” published by the Indian Express on 09 March 2019, authored by ‘Julio Ribeiro,’ the individual mentioned in the viral message.
According to this report, Julio Ribeiro confirmed that the viral message was not written by him. He also mentioned that his name was misspelt in the viral message as ‘Julius Rebeiro,’ and the post incorrectly described him as the retired DGP of Maharashtra. Instead, he served as the Commissioner of Police in Mumbai and DGP of Gujarat for four months. Additionally, he held the position of DGP in Punjab for two years, but he was not the DGP of Maharashtra. He also stated that he became a victim of “fake news,” which was factually correct. Julio Ribeiro has also stated that he largely agrees with the contents of the post. He said that while it is true that Modi’s government has accelerated the development agenda in many spheres and has done a lot of good work that could have been done earlier, however, it is not true that the earlier governments did nothing progressive for the country. ‘The South Asian Times’ also reported the same article in March 2021, written by Julio Ribeiro, refuting that the viral message was not written by him.
However, there have been a few instances where he has expressed dissatisfaction with the Modi government’s governance. (here, here, here & here)
To sum up, this viral message chiding PM Modi was not written by the former IPS officer Julio Ribeiro.
