FALSE ALERT: fake tweet in which Amit Shah says he has “bone cancer” goes viral

A tweet attributed to Interior Minister Amit Shah’s verified Twitter identifier in which he says he has bone cancer is being distributed via social media. In the tweet, Shah can be seen imploring Muslims to pray for his good health during Ramzan.

A loose translation of the tweet originally made in Hindi says: “People of my country, every step I took has been in the interest of the country, I have no enmity with any person of any caste or religion, I have not been able to serve the people of the country due to the deterioration of health for a few days. It is sad to say that I have contracted bone cancer in the back of the throat, I hope that in this happy month of Ramadan, people in Muslim society will also pray for my health and serve them as soon as I’m healthy again. (sic) ”

A Times Fact Check reader shared a screenshot of this tweet with us on our WhatsApp number asking us to verify its authenticity.

TRUE
The tweet is false. Shah has not tweeted anything remotely close to what is said in the tweet.

VERIFICATION AND METHODOLOGY
We searched for Shah’s official identifier on Twitter and used advanced search tools on the microblogging platform to establish that he never tweeted this from the moment he made his official account.

As for the rumors about his health, we found another tweet from Shah, where he dug those who spread disinformation and wished him death.

“Over the past few days, some friends have spread many interesting rumors about my health through social media. Many people even tweeted and prayed for my death. The country is currently battling a global epidemic like the crown, and as the country’s Minister of the Interior, I didn’t pay attention to all of this because I was busy at work until late at night. When I came to my knowledge, I thought to let these people enjoy their imaginary thoughts and therefore I did not issue any clarification, ”Shah tweeted.

“But millions of my party workers and supporters have expressed a lot of concern over the past two days, I cannot ignore their concern. So today I want to clarify that I am completely healthy and that I do not have any disease. According to Hindu beliefs, such rumors are believed to strengthen health. That is why I hope that all those people make these things senseless and let me do my job, while doing their own work. I express my gratitude to my supporters and all the party workers for expressing their concern for my well-being. I have no ill will or malice towards the people who have spread this rumor. Thanks to them too, “he added.

VERDICT

Times Fact Check found that the tweet attributed to Amit Shah in which he claims to have bone cancer is false.