Journos stole silverware from a London hotel?

On January 9, a story about a group of journalists accompanying West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on an official tour went viral on social media. The story, published on January 8 by Aaj Bangla TV, stated that these journalists stole silverware from St James’ Court, a Taj Group Hotel in London, where a dinner was being hosted in the CM’s honour.

According to the story, this was caught on the hotel’s CCTV camera and the journalists, consequently, were fined £50.

The story was much talked about on Twitter, which explains £50 becoming a Twitter trend on Tuesday.

While journalists on social media were trying to verify the story, Outlook, it seems, got the scoop. It published a story titled: “Senior Journalists Accompanying Mamata To London Steal Silver Cutlery During Official Dinner Meet, Fined £50,” by reporter Dola Mitra, confirming journalists “flicking silverware”. According to the report, the newspaper house as well as an anonymous senior editor from the paper, where the scribe works, confirmed the report.

The story was eventually picked up by DailyO, OneIndia, FirstPost and OpIndia. However, the original Aaj Bangla TV story is no longer available. So far, no explanation has been given by the website for retracting the story.

Newslaundry has not been able to verify the story independently.