checkthis / Fact check
Half the storyTrick: Silence = guiltOther senior Congress leaders like Kharge and Jairam Ramesh publicly praised Captain Smit Machchhar. A politician's silence on a specific event does not prove political bias.
The trick: Silence = guilt
It treats someone not commenting as proof of what they think (known as argument from silence).
"Captain Smit Machchhar’s bravery was being praised across the world but Rahul Gandhi didn't utter a word..."
Not commenting publicly on a specific event does not prove a politician's underlying motives or political bias.
How this trick works and how to answer it →
What we checked
≈
It implies: Rahul Gandhi's failure to publicly praise the pilot is motivated by political bias.The Tribune
✓
Captain Smit Machchhar stopped a plane and saved the lives of 174 people.Cbsnews
?
Rahul Gandhi did not praise Captain Smit Machchhar for saving 174 people's lives.No reliable source found for this yet.
What the Reel doesn't tell you
- Other senior Congress leaders publicly praised the pilot, contradicting the claim that the party ignored him.
How it plays you
It wants you to think: "Opposition leaders deliberately ignore national heroes out of political malice."
Not commenting personally on an event does not prove political bias, especially when other senior Congress leaders like Kharge and Jairam Ramesh publicly praised the pilot.
- Loaded language: "POLITICAL.MADE PAID INFLUENCERS". Uses derogatory labels to dismiss opposing voices and frame them as manufactured rather than genuine.
- False equivalence: "Plane Rok Ke 174 Logo Ki Jaan Bachai Agar Police Van Rokte Toh Praise Car Deta". Sardonically equates praising an airline pilot saving passengers to supporting domestic protests, linking unrelated actions to stoke anger.
Does this look wrong?
Check a Reel yourself
Send any Reel to @checkthis.chat on Instagram. You get a reply like this in a minute or two.
Send a Reel