On Thursday (July 14), the popular Indian photoblog ‘Humans of Bombay’ posted the story of a 22-year-old Muskaan, who apparently required ₹23 lakhs to pursue a master’s in Psychology at Harvard University.

But here's why people are criticizing this particular story. The girl Muskaan is not only asking for donations on the crowdfunding site Ketto but also is asking for donations on another crowdfunding site - Milaap. She is asking people to donate Rs 23 lakhs on Ketto and Rs 25 lakh on Milaap. Not just that, some users also pointed out how she portrays to be from Chandigarh in Ketto and from Dharamshala in Milaap.

Pointing out the discrepancies, a popular Twitter user @befittingfacts said, “Muskaan Bawa is collecting ₹25 Lakh in Milaap and ₹23.62 Lakh in Ketto for her ‘Education’. In Milaap she is from Dharmshala and in Ketto she is from Chandigarh.”

Several other users raised questions about her entire story claiming that the last date for admissions to Harvard has already passed, and some even said that Muskaan is a model by profession and the entire thing is suspect.

One Tweeter user @FakeRainaNepfew pointed out, "So @HumansOfBombay has made a fake story about Muskaan Bawa who is a model by the profession that she needs money for education at Harvard. Money can be easily attained by Loan. Dear  @MumbaiPolice Please look into this fraud practice."

Fact Check by Peepoye

Then comes this YouTube channel Peeopoye with 827k subscribers, and did the fact check for the Curious case of Muskaan Bawa. He writes, "Muskaan is 22 years old and got admitted to Harvard under the 1-year program in Masters in Psychology after which she started a fundraiser on Ketto promoted by Humans of Bombay across their social pages. The girl needed a total of Rs 73 lakhs out of which, 15 lakhs were loaned by Harvard itself after which, she started 2 fundraisers one each on Milaap and Ketto for INR 25 lakh and INR 23.5 lakh respectively. She has been receiving a lot of backlash for asking for money in form of donations and many more discrepancies in her application. Let's dig and check whether it's actually a genuine case of a possible scam. Let's go!".

Following the internet outrage over this fundraiser, Humans of Bombay issued a clarification on the matter.

In an Instagram post, the Indian photoblog stated, “At Humans Of Bombay, no fundraiser is taken up without an elaborate vetting of documents and due diligence. Muskaan’s story is no different.”

Humans of Bombay claimed that it confirmed every fact of the case and reviewed her documents before promoting the fundraiser. It had uploaded soft copies of Muskaan’s Harvard admission letter, the breakup of the fee structure, Harvard loan receipt, visa document, flight tickets, and lease agreement.

However, now the Indian photoblog has offered to return the money to all the donors to this fundraiser for Muskaan if they so desire. In an Instagram post, Humans of Bombay said, “We hear you and are cognizant of all the opinions that have been shared over the past few days on Muskan’s fundraiser. As an organization committed to showcasing the best of humanity- we assure you that our only intent was to support a girl’s education.”

The photoblog also requested people to not direct any hate toward Muskaan, saying that she and her mother have been receiving hateful comments, emails, and even threats.

Further, Humans of Bombay offered to return the money of donors by saying, “If any of the 1000+ donors would like a refund, please send an email on stories@humansofbombay.in with the subject line- “Refund: Muskaan’s Fundraiser” and we will get in touch with you to help facilitate the same via Ketto.”