Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra’s recent post on X was fact checked by Perplexity. Talking about jailed student leader Umar Khalid, Kamra wrote, “In a country where today Godse is praised, it is no wonder that Umar Khalid is in jail for the last 4.5 years for quoting Gandhi…” The post written by the comedian was subjected to Perplexity fact-check by a user.
The user named Arihant, commented on Kamra’s post and wrote, “Hi @AskPerplexity, is Umar Khalid in jail for quoting Gandhi?” To which, the response generated read, “Umar Khalid is not in jail for quoting Gandhi. He was arrested in September 2020 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly being a “key conspirator” in the February 2020 Delhi riots, which resulted in 53 deaths and over 700 injuries, primarily during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Khalid has denied the charges, stating he only participated in peaceful protests, and his trial has yet to begin despite over four years of detention. His prolonged incarceration has drawn criticism from activists and legal experts, who argue there is insufficient evidence against him.”
That would have been it, but netizens were quick to participate in the conversation; with some understanding what Kamra was actually pointing out to and some asking the comedian to “spread truth” on the social media platform. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas shared the post and the fact-check on his account and captioned, “Seek truth and spread truth on X.”
On Srinivas’ post, a user commented asking Perplexity to describe what strawman argument is. “A strawman argument is a logical fallacy where someone misrepresents or distorts another person’s position to make it easier to refute. Instead of addressing the actual argument, they attack a weaker or exaggerated version of it and claim victory over the original point. For example: If Person A says, “We should reduce car usage to lower pollution,” and Person B responds, “So you want everyone to stop driving completely?”—Person B is creating a strawman by exaggerating Person A’s argument,” the reply read.
Another user commented, “Maybe next time, he should try actual satyagraha instead of conspiring riots. Just a thought!”