Arnab Goswami’s lie about Pak army backfires, becomes Twitter meme

Indian journalist Arnab Goswami was once again caught spreading fake news about Pakistan but was called out for it by his Pakistani guest. Goswami lied about the presence of the Pakistan Army officers in Kabul Serena to fight in Panjshir Valley.

Goswami claimed that the Pakistan Army officers were staying on the fifth floor of the Serena Hotel in Kabul but did not know that Kabul Serena only has two floors above ground level.

Arnab Goswami and his 'intelligence sources'. 😭 pic.twitter.com/W9bCZxbw0D

— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) September 18, 2021

In his programme ‘The Debate’ on Republic World TV last week, Goswami had invited an Indian analyst as well as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokesperson Abdul Samad Yaqoob, to represent Pakistan, in a discussion on what the channel termed a “big split” within the Taliban.

Goswami addressed Yaqoob and said: “You go and check today … on the fifth floor of the Serena Hotel, I am telling you, please check, the fifth floor of the Serena Hotel in Kabul, how many Pakistani army officers are there?”

“I am giving you. [Do] you want more details? I’ll tell you which room, or is this enough? [On the] fifth floor of the Serena Hotel, Kabul, how many Pakistani officers are there. Okay? I can also tell you what they ordered for dinner, so don’t question my intelligence sources.”

Yaqoob countered Goswami’s claims and said, “What I got to know from my sources [is that] Serena has only two floors. There are no third, fourth or fifth floors.”

The Indian anchor had no logical answer and sought to draw attention away from his faux pas. 

Netizens from around the world called out Goswami for making false claims, making him a Twitter meme once again.

A Twitter user from India wrote, “Dear #ArnabGoswami this is Sarena hotel Kabul I am still unable to find out [the] fifth floor?”

Indian journalist, Kanishka Raj Singh tweeted, “Finding information on the fifth floor of a building that has only two floors requires great journalism and brilliant sourcing.”

Finding information on the fifth floor of a building that has only two floors requires great journalism and brilliant sourcing. 😂😂😂 https://t.co/Dffd2NOKdF

— Kanishka Raj Singh (@Kanishka183) September 19, 2021

Journalist Om Thanvi tweeted, “According-to-sources journalism and its own laughter!”

“According-to-sources” journalism and its own laughters! https://t.co/ilnRPsxu7H

— Om Thanvi | ओम थानवी (@omthanvi) September 19, 2021

Chinese journalist Shen Shiwei too exposed Goswami’s claims by sharing images of the hotel.

India's Arnab Goswami claims #Pakistan's ISI officers are staying on the fifth floor of Serena Hotel Kabul and meddling in the affairs of #Afghanistan.

But……Serena Hotel in Kabul has only two floors, the fifth floor doesn’t exist……pic.twitter.com/nFypRdGzP3

— Shen Shiwei 沈诗伟 (@shen_shiwei) September 19, 2021

One user rotated a picture of the hotel and mused that Goswami was perhaps counting its floors vertically.

5th floor according to sources 😂😂#ISIon5thFloor pic.twitter.com/Nww7OGagJg

— Totally Confused 😕🤔 (@SunniTig3r1) September 19, 2021

PTI spokesperson too tweeted a picture with “Arnab’s Intelligence Source” as its caption.

Arnab's Intelligence Source pic.twitter.com/7yb81ODOV7

— Samad Yaqoob (@ASY53) September 19, 2021