Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin conferred the state award for communal harmony to fact-checker Mohammed Zubair on Friday. The award was given “in recognition of his contribution in prevention of violence” by debunking claims on the social media regarding migrant workers were allegedly under attack in Tamil Nadu. Zubair, who is co-founder of AltNews, was presented the award by the Tamil Nadu CM during the the 75th Republic Day celebrations in Chennai on Friday.

Upon confirming the legitimacy of the video clips making these allegations, Zubair explicitly stated on AltNews that such claims were unfounded, and there were no instances of such attacks occurring in Tamil Nadu. “Thus, he stopped the spread of rumours against Tamil Nadu and acted to prevent violence caused by caste, religion, race and language,” the citation read.
“In appreciation of the services rendered by him in maintenance of communal harmony, Thiru Mohammed Zubair is presented with the Kottai Ameer Communal Harmony Award for the year 2024.”

In the year 2000, the Tamil Nadu government established the Kottai Ameer Communal Harmony Award with the aim of fostering communal harmony. This award is bestowed upon an individual from the state who has demonstrated exceptional contributions to building harmony. The accolade includes a medal, a cash prize of Rs 25,000, and a certificate recognising the recipient’s services. The government specified that Zubair hails from Denkanikottai taluka in Krishnagiri district.