O h dear lord! Cover me with eternal shame. Mea Culpa. I did something unspeakably awful—a nostalgic, sentimental Instagram post on He-Man of India, Dharmendra, which ended with a poignant #RIPVeeru. I was embroiled in the fake news controversy, which had swiftly created a tsunami across social media.

So many of us—seasoned mediawallas—jumped the gun and posted heartfelt condolences for a beloved actor who was ailing. But alive. Incredible how rapidly the rumour of his death spread, and more importantly, how many responsible people believed it—from Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, misled by their tagda intelligence reports. Who are we in comparison? Tributes started pouring in.

This isn’t the first time fake news about a celebrit

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