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ICICI, AXIS, & HDFC banks were not set up as government organisations and later privatised - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 22, 2021
A post is being circulated on social media claims that former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh privatized ICICI, Axis, and HDFC banks during his tenure as the Finance Minister in PV Narsimha Rao Government. This post claims all three banks were started as government-owned nationalized banks and later got privatized while Manmohan Singh was serving as the Finance Minister of India. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Former Indian PM Manmohan Singh privatised ICICI, Axis and HDFC banks while serving as the Finance Minister of India.
Fact: Indira Gandhi nationalized 14 commercial banks in 1969 and another 6 commercial banks in 1980. ICICI, Axis, and HDFC banks were not on the list of these banks. In 1993, PV Narsimha Rao Government provided licenses to new private sector banks as part of the new liberalization reforms in the Indian banking sector. ICICI, Axis, and HDFC banks are few among these. These are private sector banks that were never nationalised by the Indian Government. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On searching for the details of the claim made in the post, we found no reports mentioning  ICICI, Axis, and HDFC banks as nationalised banks that got privatised during PV Narasimha Rao’s tenure as PM. When we searched for further details, it is found that Indira Gandhi nationalised 14 commercial banks in 1969 and another 6 commercial banks in 1980. ICICI, Axis, and HDFC banks were not on the list of these 20 banks. Manmohan Singh during his tenure as the Finance Minister in PV Narsimha Rao’s Government introduced new financial reforms in the banking sector. In January 1993, the PV Narsimha Rao Government released guidelines for the licensing of new banks in the private sector. PV Narasimha Rao Government started giving licenses to small private banks. ICICI, Axis and HDFC bank, and few other banks got  licences under this initiative.
ICICI Bank:
ICICI was established in 1955 as a private financial institution that provided mid-term and long-term project financing to the Indian industries. With the liberalization of the financial sector in the early ‘90s, ICICI transformed its business from a development financial institution offering only project finance to a diversified financial services provider. ICICI bank was incorporated in 1994 as part of the ICICI group. So, it can be concluded that ICICI bank was established after the new financial reforms brought by Manmohan Singh in the PV Narasimha Rao Government.
HDFC Bank:
HDFC Bank is one of India’s leading private banks and was among the first to receive approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to set up as a private sector bank in 1994.
Axis Bank:
Axis Bank is an Indian private sector bank that was promoted jointly by Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) (then known as Unit Trust of India), Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC), National Insurance Company Limited, The New India Assurance Company Limited, The Oriental Insurance Company Limited and United India Insurance Company Limited In 1993. Axis Bank has begun its operations in 1994, which was then called UTI Bank.  Axis bank (then UTI Bank) is a private sector bank that was established during the new financial reforms brought by the PV Narasimha Rao Government.
Unit Trust of India Act, 1963 was repealed in 2003 paving way for the bifurcation of UTI into Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) and UTI Mutual Fund. And subsequently, Axis bank shareholdings of Unit Trust of India were transferred to SUUTI. In 2013-14, during Manmohan Singh’s tenure as PM, the government’s share was divested through a sale of minority shareholding of 9%. Further, a share of 9.29% & 0.41% minority stakes were disinvested in 2018-19 & 2020-21 during Modi’s tenure as PM.
If at all HDFC and ICICI banks were government entities that were privatised later, the details of their privatisation (disinvestment) would have been available in the public domain. However, we did not find any mention of these banks in the information related to disinvestment of government shareholdings since 1991, when the sale of government stake in public sector undertakings first began.
In fact, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) annual report of 1992-93 mentions that a number of applications were received for setting up private banks after the change of policy in 1993. The report further mentions that three of them belonging to financial institutions Unit Trust of India – UTI (now Axis Bank), Housing Development Finance Corporation of India Ltd (HDFC) and Industrial Credit & Investment Corporation of India Ltd (ICICI) have been approved in principle.
To sum it up, ICICI, AXIS, and HDFC banks are the private sector banks established during the new financial reforms brought by Manmohan Singh during PV Narsimha Rao’s tenure as PM.


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ICMR did not release this list of COVID-19 precautions - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 19, 2021
In view of increasing COVID-19 cases in few states, a post enlisting few precautions to be followed is being shared widely on social media. The post claims that this list is issued by the ICMR. Through this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: List of precautions issued by ICMR in view of COVID-19
Fact: There is no such information available on the ICMR website and social media accounts regarding the precautions to be followed in view of COVID-19. When the same list was doing rounds on social media in 2020,  ICMR denied issuing any such list. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Search on ICMR’s official website and official social media accounts did not yield any such information related to precautions to be followed in view of COVID-19.
Further search led us to a Times of India news article dated 15 March 2020 in which Dr. Devi Shetty, Chairman, and founder, Narayana Health penned few precautionary measures to be followed in order to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Few of the precautions are similar to the precautions listed in the post. Hence, this article could be the basis for the precautionary list in the post.
The same list is doing rounds on social media at least since March 2020. A Facebook post that shared the same list back in March 2020 can be seen here. FACTLY had debunked this message then. When ICMR was contacted then, they mentioned that if they come up with any such instructions, they would post them on their website and official social media handles. One can see that no such list of precautionary measures, as mentioned in the post, was published anywhere by ICMR. All these establish the fact that these precautions are not recommended by ICMR.
ICMR though its official twitter handle have clarified on 06 May 2021 that the they did not issue any such guidelines or advisory, and the posts attributing these guidelines to ICMR are fake.
This is circulating in different social media platform. ICMR did not issue any such guideline or advisory. It is #Fake circulation. #FactCheck #FakeNews pic.twitter.com/FeusTaOiWM
In view of the increasing COVID-19 cases in the country, misleading posts like these are being shared on social media platforms.
To sum it up, ICMR did not release this list of COVID-19 precautions.
Update (MAY 07, 2021): This post has been updated with the clarification tweet from ICMR.

source: news-factly

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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IDBI Bank Manager in Maharashtra was not assaulted by the Shiv Sena workers - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 18, 2020
A post is being shared on social media claiming it as the video of Shiv Sena goons assaulting an IDBI bank manager in the presence of police in Maharashtra. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Video of Shiv Sena goons assaulting an IDBI bank Manager in Maharashtra.
Fact: This video shows Youth Congress workers assaulting IDBI Bank Manager in Malkapur city of Buldhana district, Maharashtra. On ‘24 August 2020’,  Malkapur city IDBI Bank Manager was assaulted by the Youth Congress workers for not sanctioning crop loans immediately to the farmers. It has nothing to do with the Shiv Sena party. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search, similar visuals were found in a video shared by ‘The Times of India’ news website on ‘13 September 2020’. The same video was also found in a tweet made by ‘Times Now’ channel on Twitter. In the video, it is mentioned that a Youth Congress leader along with his supporters assaulted an IDBI bank manager in Maharashtra. On searching for more information using these keywords, similar visuals were found in a video posted by ‘News 18 Lokmat’ news channel on ’10 September 2020’ on YouTube. In the description of the video, it is mentioned that this incident took place in Malkapur city of Buldhana district in Maharashtra. Local Marathi channel ‘7 Star News’ also shared a video with similar visuals. In this video also, it is mentioned that a Youth Congress leader supporters thrashed an IDBI bank officer in Malkapur, Maharashtra.
FACTLY contacted IDBI Malkapur Branch Manager Anil Sawle for more information about the incident. Anil Sawle stated that he was recently appointed as the manager of IDBI bank in Malkapur. Though he didn’t blame any political party for this incident, he informed that the former Branch Head was assaulted by a group of persons for the delay in sanctioning crop loans to the farmers.
When we contacted Malkapur Assistant Police Inspector Smita Masaye for more details, she informed that the Malkapur IDBI Bank Manager was assaulted by Youth Congress workers, not by the Shiv Sena party workers. ‘On allegations of delaying the crop loans to the farmers, Youth Congress workers on ‘24 August 2020’ assaulted IDBI Bank former manager in his office’, said Smita Masaye. She clarified that this incident has nothing to do with the Shiv Sena Party.
To sum it up, IDBI Bank Manager in Maharashtra was assaulted by the Youth Congress workers, not the Shiv Sena party workers.

created: September 18, 2020


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To meet targets, Broadband subscriber base has to increase 1.5 times in the next 4 years
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 12, 2017
As per the National Telecom Policy of 2012, we set ourselves a target of 600 million broadband internet connections with a minimum of 2 Mbps speed. The present broadband subscriber base has to increase 1.5 times in the next 4 years if we are to achieve targets.
In May last year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has written to the government recommending a review of broadband definition in the country and that the minimum download speed be increased to 2 Mbps. Currently, the broadband definition in the country is that connection which is able to provide a minimum download speed of 512 kbps to an individual subscriber. The minimum download speed in India is less than that specified in Bangladesh (minimum of 1 Mbps). Even with this definition, the number of broadband subscribers in India stands at 236 millions as of December 2016.
India’s Internet Subscriber base at 391 million
As of December 2016, the internet subscriber base in the country stood at 391 millions. This includes both broadband and narrowband subscribers. While 155 million of these are narrowband subscribers, 236 million are broadband subscribers. Maharashtra leads in the total subscriber base with 32.6 million closely followed by Tamil Nadu (30.7 million). If Mumbai circle is included, the total subscriber base in Maharashtra & Mumbai circles crosses 50 million which is more than 1/8th of India’s internet subscriber base. A total of 15 telecom circles have more than 15 million internet subscribers each while Jammu & Kashmir circle has only 30 lakh internet subscribers, the lowest in the country.
In terms of broadband subscribers, seven circles of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat & Madhya Pradesh account for 123 million or more than 50% of the total subscribers.
Internet subscriber base increased by 46% in 2 years
The total internet subscriber base in the country increased from 267.4 million to 391.5 million in 2 years between December 2014 and December 2016. In Madhya Pradesh, the internet subscriber base increased by around 70% in these 2 years, the highest in the country. The subscriber base increased by more than 50% in 9 telecom circles. It increased by over 30% in 22 of the 23 circles. Jammu & Kashmir is the only circle in the country where the subscriber base has decreased in these 2 years from 3.08 million to 3.01 million.
Targets difficult to achieve?
One of the core objectives of the  National Telecom Policy-2012 is to provide affordable and reliable broadband-on-demand and to achieve 175 million broadband connections by the year 2017 and 600 million by the year 2020 at minimum 2 Mbps download speed. While the number of broadband connections as of December 2016 has crossed 175 million, it is at the old definition of 512 kbps. If the target of 600 million by 2020 has to be achieved, then the number of connections has to increase 1.5 times or by over 150% in the next 4 years or by around 40% each year. Going at the current rate, it looks improbable that the 2020 targets will be met.
India’s targets look modest compared to other countries
As per report sent by TRAI to the government in 2016, average internet connection speed in India was 2.5 Mbps, lower than all its BRICS counterparts.  Even in terms of the definition of broadband, other countries are ahead. In both Brazil & Bangladesh, minimum of 1 Mbps is defined  as broadband. The targets set by India (600 million by 2020 at 2 Mbps) look modest when compared to some of the developed western countries. Australia’s target is to make 100 Mbps available to 93% of the homes & businesses by 2018. Finland on the other hand had a target of providing 100 Mbps to every household by 2016. Germany wishes to provide 50 Mbps connections to 75% of the households.
Featured Image: Broadband subscriber base in India


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JEE top rankers prefer IIT Hyderabad
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 2, 2016
The first list of seat allotment of JEE advanced 2016 is out.  As always, IIT Bombay is the preferred choice of top rankers with more than 2/3rd of the top 100 choosing it. Among the new IITs, IIT Hyderabad is the preferred choice with 19 of the top 1000 choosing it.
The first round of seat allotment of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) advanced for 2016 is complete. As has been the trend of the last few years, IIT Bombay is still the preferred choice of the top rankers in JEE. Among the new IITs, IIT Hyderabad seems like the preferred choice.
2/3rd of the top 100 choose IIT Bombay
In 2016, 67 out of the top 100 rankers were allotted to IIT Bombay followed by 28 to IIT Delhi and 5 to IIT Madras. These are the only 3 IITs that have the top 100 rankers in 2016. In 2015, IIT Kanpur was also part of the top 100 list with 2 candidates choosing it. IITs in metro cities look like the preferred destination of toppers.
IIT Hyderabad, Varanasi & Gandhinagar now have students from the top 500 ranks
For the first time in 2016, a student among the top 500 has been allotted to IIT Hyderabad, IIT Gandhinagar and IIT (BHU) Varanasi. Till 2015, students among the top 500 chose one of the seven older IITs including IIT Roorkee. In 2016, 2 students among the top 500 chose IIT Hyderabad and one each chose IIT Gandhinagar and IIT(BHU) Varanasi. IITs at Bombay and Delhi are still the preferred choice for the toppers with 164 and 131 students among the top 500 choosing them respectively. These are the only two IITs with more than 100 students from among the top 500 rankers.
More than 25% of the top 1000 choose IIT Bombay
The five old IITs are still the favourite among the top 1000 rankers. More than 25% (262) of the top 1000 in 2016 chose IIT Bombay followed by 196 for IIT Delhi. The IITs at Kanpur, Kharagpur & Madras also have more than 100 students from the top 1000. Only four other IITs (Guwahati, Roorkee, Varanasi & Hyderabad) have double digit students from the top 1000. In all, a total of 14 IITs have a student from among the top 1000 in 2016.
IIT Hyderabad the preferred choice among the new IITs
Among the new IITs, IIT Hyderabad is way ahead of the others as the preferred choice of toppers. In 2016, 19 students among the top 1000 chose IIT Hyderabad followed by 3 who chose IIT Indore. The IITs at Gandhinagar, Jodhpur and Ropar have a student each from among the top 1000 for the first time in 2016. Even in 2015, IIT Hyderabad had 20 students from the top 1000. Three other new IITs that were established in 2008 at Bhubaneshwar, Mandi & Patna do not have any student from the top 1000.


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IIT Kanpur Professor H C Verma is not donating one crore rupees every year to the PM’s Relief Fund - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 29, 2021
A post is being shared on social media with a message that H C Verma, an IIT Kanpur Physics Professor, has been receiving one crore rupees every year as royalty for his book ‘Concept of Physics’. This post goes onto claim that H C Verma has been donating all this money to the PM’s Relief Fund and charity. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: IIT Kanpur Professor H C Verma has been donating one crore rupees every year to the PM’s Relief Fund and charity.
Fact: This message has been in circulation on social media at least since 2018.  Professor H C Verma through a Facebook post in 2018 had clarified that this news about him donating one crore rupees to the PM’s Relief Fund is false. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On searching for the details of the claim made in the post, it is found out that the same message has been in circulation on social media at least since 2018. IIT Kanpur professor H C Verma had issued a clarification regarding this message circulating on social media. In his Facebook post on 13 April 2018, H C Verma said, “Dear Friends, I came to know about a Twitter post telling that I earn 1 crore of royalty and donate the whole money to the PM Relief fund. I wish I could do that. I wish to categorically deny the information. A scooter photo is also shown in the post. I never had a scooter of this colour and make. I am just one of you, a common man and a physics learner”.
Several news websites have published news articles reporting the clarification issued by the IIT Kanpur professor, H C Verma. They can be seen here and here. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that IIT Kanpur professor H C Verma had not been donating one crore rupees every year to the PM’s Relief Fund.
To sum it up, IIT Kanpur physics professor H C Verma had not donated one crore rupees every year to the PM’s Relief Fund.


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Illegal Weapons in India: Which State Tops the charts when it comes to Confiscation?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 24, 2015
None of us can forget the many Bollywood movies whose plot centered on mafia, gangs & illegal weapons. Stars brandishing guns is not uncommon in our movies. We also remember Vitthalbhai Radadiya, then a Congress MP and now a BJP MP brandishing his gun at a toll booth and pointing his gun towards the toll booth operator in 2012. But what about the seizure /confiscation of illegal firearms/weapons? Data about seizure /confiscation of illegal firearms/weapons is available from 2012 and below is an analysis. It is to be noted that weapons include all type of such as AK47/56, Pistols, Carbine, Revolvers, Guns, Rifles and country made weapons etc.
All India Numbers
While the number of illegal weapons seized remained more or less constant from 2012 to 2014, the number of persons arrested has more than doubled from 2012 to 2014. Reasons for this sudden increase in arrests is not known though certain states like Uttar Pradesh have seen a phenomenal rise in arrests. In fact, Uttar Pradesh accounts for more than 50% of the arrests in all the three years.
Top 10 States in terms of Seizure of illegal weapon
For the period starting 2012, Uttar Pradesh tops the list both in terms of number of illegal weapons seized & persons arrested. It leaves the other states so far behind that 47% of the total illegal weapons seized and 61% of the total persons arrested in the country are from UP. Bihar is a distant second with 6.3% of the seized weapons and West Bengal stands third with 5.67%. It is also interesting to note that there is no correlation between seizure of illegal weapons and arrests. Though 857 illegal weapons have been seized in Uttaranchal, not a single person is arrested.
Only in 6 out of the 29 states, more persons are arrested than the number of arms seized. In the rest of the states, the number of persons arrested is less than the number of arms seized. Not a single illegal weapon has been seized in Goa from 2012 till date.
What steps is the Government taking?
While the Government maintains that a realistic assessment of the number of illegal weapons in the country is not feasible, it has undertaken a host of steps to prevent proliferation of illegal weapons. The steps include
Let’s hope the government’s efforts are successful.
Data Source: Unstarred Question Number1375, Ministry of Home Affairs, Answered on 03.03.2015 in the Lok Sabha.


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While State Governments increase their Excise Revenue, more & more lives are lost because of Spurious Liquor
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 5, 2015
Prohibition of Liquor is both a political & election issue in most states of India. While political parties sing the tune of prohibition while in the opposition, they change the tune once in power. In most Indian states, liquor contributes up to 20% of the total tax revenues of a state. The tax revenue from liquor is rising by the year while the number of incidents of consumption of spurious liquor is also growing by the year. Close to 3000 people lost their lives during 2012-2014 because of the consumption of spurious liquor.
Alcohol (Liquor) is a very contentious issue in India. A complete or partial ban on liquor is an election issue in most states. Tamil Nadu has seen violent protests over this issue recently and even in the state of Telangana, opposition parties rallied against the government over the issue of cheap liquor. While the state government coffers are rising on account of excise revenue, more & more people are falling prey to spurious liquor.
Who controls Liquor?
The production, manufacture, possession, transport, purchase and sale of liquor are specifically covered by Entry 8 of the State list of Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. In other words, the States have the exclusive power to regulate their production, manufacture, possession, transport, purchase and sale.
The Excise Revenue
A State Government’s revenue from liquor is on account of the various taxes levied such as excise, sales tax, VAT, excise duty, import fee etc. For most states, this is a very important revenue source. According to a story in the Hindu Business Line, the revenue from liquor could be as high as 20% of the overall tax revenue of the states. In Karnataka, it is more than 12000 crore and in most other big states, it is upwards of 10000 crore making it an important revenue source.
Did Prohibition (Ban) work?
Various states have imposed a prohibition on alcohol at one point or the other. But none of these efforts were completely successful. Prohibition led to more corruption and greater demand for illicit/spurious liquor.
Consumption of Illicit/Spurious Liquor
State Governments are primarily responsible for controlling the sale of spurious liquor and prevent any such incidents of death due to consumption of spurious liquor. With the increase in the sale of licensed liquor, sale of spurious liquor is also thriving. As per records available with the Ministry of Home Affairs, more than 3000 incidents of consumption of spurious liquor took place in the country resulting in the loss of 2927 lives. The number of such incidents in 2012 was 725. While the number of incidents came down to 520 in 2013, they went up exponentially to 1797 in 2014, an increase of more than 250%. These cases resulted in 731 deaths in 2012, 497 deaths in 2013 and 1699 deaths in 2014.
Within states, Maharashtra accounts for the most number of deaths in these three years with 401 followed by Karnataka with 395 deaths. Uttar Pradesh with 271, Andhra Pradesh (including Telangana) with 253 and Madhya Pradesh with 229 make up the top five. The state of Gujarat where there is official prohibition in place had 177 deaths during this period. These 8 states make up for 70% of all the deaths. All these states make substantial tax revenue through manufacture & sale of liquor. The only notable exception to this list is Tamil Nadu where not a single case has been registered in the last 3 years. In Tamil Nadu, the government manages the retail shops as well.
Seizure of Illegal Liquor
Information Collection on illicit liquor seized under the Excise Act has been started from 2014 onwards. The NCRB publishes this seizure data in its Crime in India report. In 2014, a total of 2.85 crore liters of illegal liquor was seized by the state governments. Out of this, 41% was factory made, 32% was country made and 27% was the rest.
Within states, the usual suspects are at the top. Karnataka tops the charts with 77.7 lakh liters of seized illegal liquor followed by Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh & Andhra Pradesh. In both Rajasthan & West Bengal, more than 20 lakh liters of illegal liquor was seized while the number of deaths due to consumption of spurious liquor is low. In Telangana, close to a lakh liters of illegal liquor was seized in 2014.
While the political debate on prohibition of liquor continues, precious lives are being lost because the failure of the states’ law & order machinery.
Featured Image: Flickr – Steve Browne & John Verkleir

created: September 5, 2015


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Illustrated animal cell picture falsely shared as the detailed image of a human cell - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 6, 2021
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as the detailed human cell picture obtained with x-ray radiation, nuclear magnetic resonance, and cryo-electron microscope. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of the detailed human cell picture obtained with x-ray radiation, nuclear magnetic resonance, and cryo-electron microscope.
Fact: This photo shows an illustrated picture of an animal cell, not the detailed image of human cell. This illustrated animal cell poster was designed by an Australia-based science illustrator, Russel Kightley. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo is found on the ‘Fine Art America’ website. This website mentioned it as an animal cell poster designed by Russel Kightley.  The ‘Pixels’ and ‘Imgur’ image-sharing websites have also shared the same image with a similar description.
Russel Kightley, an Australia-based science illustrator had created this animal cell image and shared it in his portfolio. Russel Kightley is working as a science illustrator since 1981.
When his illustrated animal cell image has recently gone viral as the human cell image, Russel Kightley issued a clarification on his website. Russel Kightley said, “The image was created twenty years ago for an educational poster for BioCam. It took six weeks of full-time work to create using Painter (Fractal Design’s Painter as it was, now it’s managed by Corel). Since then, it’s appeared in lots of places, including Richard Dawkins’s book, The Greatest Show on Earth (plates 12-13 c)”. He also issued a clarification on Instagram.
From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the image shared in the post shows an illustrated animal cell picture, not the detailed image of a human cell.
To sum it up, an illustrated animal cell picture was falsely shared as the detailed image of a human cell.

created: August 6, 2021


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Image claiming Amul launched a new product named ‘Sharam’ is likely AI-generated, not real - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 28, 2023
A photo of a cheese product named ‘Sharam’ by the ‘Amul’ brand is being shared on social media claiming it is a new product launched by them. Let’s verify this claim through this article.
Claim: Amul launched a new cheese product named ‘Sharam’
Fact: The viral photo claiming to be Amul’s new product, ‘Sharam’, is AI-generated. Amul issued a clarification about this labelling the viral claim as a ‘fake message.’ Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
To check the veracity of the viral claim, we ran a basic keyword search on the internet, leading us to multiple media reports (here, here, and here) that said that Amul had provided clarification on this matter.
Through their official X handle, Amul said that the viral message shared on social media platforms about the new type of Amul cheese, ‘Sharam’, is fake. ‘We wish to assure you that the pack shown in this post is not Amul Cheese,’ they said, sharing the viral photo of X.
ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY AMUL pic.twitter.com/VjDQXtE6VF
We also ran the viral photo through Hive, a tool that checks whether an image is AI-generated. According to it, the viral photo is 83.3% likely to be generated using AI.
To sum up, an AI-generated image is being shared on social media, claiming that it shows a new type of Amul cheese named ‘Sharam.’

created: December 28, 2023


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Image from 2013 Allahabad Kumbh Mela is passed off as that from the farmers' protests - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 11, 2021
A post accompanying an image showing the aerial view of hundreds of tents in an open area is being widely shared across social media platforms with a claim that the image shows tents set up at Singhu border by the farmers protesting over the new farm legislation. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Image showing hundreds of tents in an open area by farmers protesting against the new farm legislation.
Fact: The image actually shows the aerial view of hundreds of tents stretched out during the Kumbh Mela which was held in Allahabad (Prayagraj) back in 2013. This image has nothing to do with the ongoing farmer’s protest. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Reverse image search of the photo in the post led us to a blog which carried the same image. According to this blog, the image shows a view of Maha Kumbh Mela which was held at Prayagraj (Allahabad) back in 2013.
Further the EXIF info details of the image published in the blog shows that the image was originally clicked on 08 February 2013, and as per the info the images is described as ‘Kumbh Mela 2013’.
Taking a cue from the blog, Google search with relevant keywords led us to a stock image on Alamy which is similar to the one in the post. The stock image shows the same site of tents as shown in the post but from a different angle and at different time. We can spot many similarities on comparison of both these images. According to the description of the stock image, the photograph was clicked on 08 February 2013 at Allahabad (Prayagraj). The caption of the image reads ‘Tents/landscape during Maha Kumbh Mela 2013 in Allahabad, India’. From all these, it is evident that the image in the post shows a campsite from the Kumbh Mela which was held in Allahabad back in 2013 and the image is no way related to the ongoing farmers’ protest.
Although farmers protesting over new farm legislations have stretched out tents at Singhu border, the image in the post does not show those from the Singhu border. In the light of the ongoing farmers’ protests against the newly enacted farm legislation, posts like these are being circulated with misleading claims.
To sum it up, image from 2013 Allahabad Kumbh Mela is falsely passed off as that from the farmers protests.

created: January 11, 2021


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Image from Bangladesh is falsely shared as ‘Protests in Mumbai against the Citizenship Amendment Act’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 16, 2019
A post with an image is being widely shared on Facebook with the claim, ‘image of protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act at Mohammed Ali Road in Mumbai’. Let’s analyze the authenticity of the claim in the post.
Image of protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act at Mohammed Ali Road in Mumbai.
Fact: The image is that of a procession at Chittagong (in Bangladesh) in November 2019. So, the claim is FALSE.
When the image in the post is cropped and subjected to Yandex reverse image search technique, it was found to exist in a video on YouTube. The video was uploaded on November 10, 2019, and had the title in ‘Bangla’ and its English translation is- ‘Alhamdulillah, the Messengers of Allah in millions are celebrating the procession, Chittagong’. So, the image is that of a procession at Chittagong (in Bangladesh). It may be noted that “Milad-un-nabi’ was celebrated on November 10, 2019.
To conclude, an image from Bangladesh is being falsely shared as ‘Protests in Mumbai against the Citizenship Amendment Act’.
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created: December 16, 2019


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Image from Bangladesh is falsely shared as that of an accused in Murshidabad murders - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 15, 2019
An image of two men is being shared widely across social media with the claim that the man in a white kurta and a skull cap is the one involved in Murshidabad murders. Let’s analyze the authenticity of that claim.
Image of a man who killed a family in Murshidabad.
Fact: In the image, the man in blue kurta is Mehedi Hasan Rasel, an accused in the murder of a student in a Bangladesh University. The man along with him is his father. This image is from the Facebook account of Rasel and is shared linking him to the murder of a family in Murshidabad, West Bengal. So, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On 08 October 2019, a 35-year-old school teacher, his wife, and their six-year-old child were killed in their house in Murshidabad, West Bengal.
When the image in the post is subjected to reverse image search, no relevant search results were obtained. But when the image of the man in blue kurta was cropped and searched on Google, it was found in an article of a Bangladesh news portal ‘Justnewsbd’. The article was about the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), a student organization in Bangladesh expelling 11 leaders and activists of its Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) unit for their involvement in the murder of a student Abrar Fahad. The article quoted the names of expelled members as Mehedi Hasan Russel, Muhtasim Fuad, Mehedi Hasan Robin, Anik Sarkar, Meftahul Islam, Moniruzzaman Monir, Efti Mosharraf Sokal, Mostoba Rafid, Muntasir Al Jami, Ehtemamul Rabbi, and Muzahidur Rahman. But from the article, the names of the men in the photos weren’t clear.
When we tried to find details regarding the murder in BUET, an article of ‘The Daily Star’ was found and it carried the photos of the students who were accused in that murder case. When you go through these photos, the man in the original picture was identified as Mehedi Hasan Rasel (earlier article quoted him as Mehedi Hasan Russel).
When one visits the Facebook account of ‘Mehedi Hasan Rasel’, the same image of two men was found in his profile and was known to be posted on 10 June 2019, with a text in Bangla whose English translation is ‘Inspiration… Father’. So, the man along with him is his father.
Ever since West Bengal Police have said that they have detained 4 persons in the Murshidabad murder case, this image of this man from Bangladesh is being shared across social media platforms as the accused in the murder case of a family in West Bengal, India.
To conclude, the image from Bangladesh is falsely shared as that of the accused in the Murshidabad murder case.
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created: October 15, 2019


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Image from Egypt is being shared as ‘male student disguised himself as a female during the protests at Jamia University’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 17, 2019
A post with an image is being widely shared on Facebook with the claim that a male student has disguised himself as a female during the protests at Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi. Let’s analyze the authenticity of the claim in the post.
Image of a male student disguised himself as a female during the protests at Jamia Milia Islamia University in New Delhi.
Fact: The image is that of a man who disguised himself as a woman to kidnap children in New Cairo (Egypt). He was caught and handed over to the police. The incident took place in August 2017. So, the claim is FALSE.
For a few days, students of Jamia Millia Islamia University have been holding protests in the campus against the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019.
When the image in the post is subjected to reverse image search technique, many search results of it were obtained. Among them, the search result of ‘Kayan News’ had the same image in its article along with many other images of that man. From that article, it was found that people have caught the man who dressed as a woman when he tried to kidnap a child in ‘Fifth Settlement’ (a district of New Cairo, Egypt). The same image can also be seen in the tweet of Egyptian news agency ‘Youm7’, that reported about the incident.
شاب يتنكر فى زى سيدة لخطف الأطفال بالتجمع والأهالى يسلمونه للشرطةhttps://t.co/tpX0zOHRZn pic.twitter.com/oNCpB3Gwqp
To summarize, an image from Egypt is being shared as ‘male student disguised himself as a female during the protests at Jamia University’.
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created: December 17, 2019


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Image from Iran is falsely shared as that of a Kashmir man brutally beaten by Police - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 15, 2019
A collage with two photos that shows a man seriously injured is being shared widely on Facebook with the claim that it is that of a Kashmiri man beaten by Police. Let’s analyze the authenticity of that claim.
Image of a Kashmiri man beaten by Police.
Fact: The image is from Iran and it shows a young man tortured in prison after being detained from a protest. It has nothing to do with Kashmir. So, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the image in the post is subjected to reverse image search, many search results were obtained. A tweet among those search results had the same image, and it had the following message with it- ‘A young man in #Iran was tortured and flogged in prison after his arrest during #IranProtests. His mother posted this picture‘.
A young man in #Iran was tortured and flogged in prison after his arrest during #IranProtests. His mother posted this picture.#قیام_بهمن #IranUprising #براندازم pic.twitter.com/NuOi2rwqjy
Many other search results obtained also corroborated that the image is that of an Iranian man tortured in prison after being arrested in protests in 2018 and these search results can be seen here, here, here and here.
To conclude, the image from Iran is falsely shared as that of a Kashmir man brutally beaten by Police.
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Image from MP is shared as ‘students arrested at Allahabad University (UP) for involvement in terror-related activities - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 25, 2019
An image of a few men and women sitting on the floor with policemen standing along with them in front of a police station is being shared widely on social media with the claim that it shows 25 students arrested at Allahabad University for their involvement in terror-related activities at the campus. Let’s check the authenticity of the claim.
The post was made on Facebook in July but, it is now being shared widely and has attracted more than 19,000 shares till the time of writing this article.
Image of students arrested at Allahabad University (Uttar Pradesh) for their involvement in terror-related activities at the campus.
Fact: The image shows Madhya Pradesh Police with people arrested in a ‘sex racket’ burst during the raids at the Parwalia village of Ratlam district in the state. So, the claim is FALSE.
In the comments section of the post, a few users have written that it is ‘fake’ and a certain user has enclosed a screenshot of an e-paper article that had the same picture.
From this clip, it was found that the Madhya Pradesh Police have arrested fifteen people who are part of a ‘sex racket’. They were caught during the Police raids at the Parwalia village of Ratlam district in the state. At the bottom of the clip, it can be seen that the clip is that of e-paper published on July 25, 2019, by ‘Patrika’. When searched based on the information regarding the incident, the article of ‘Patrika’ was found and it can be seen here.
The same information can also be found in the article of ‘Mandsaur Sandesh’  which published the same image.
To summarize, an image from MP is being falsely shared as ‘students arrested at Allahabad University (UP) for involvement in terror-related activities’.
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created: November 25, 2019


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Image from UP being shared as Assam Police attacking a woman - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 12, 2019
A post with a photo of police thrashing a girl on the road is being widely shared on Facebook claiming that it shows Assam Police atrocities on the public. Let’s analyze the authenticity of the claim.
Image of Assam Police atrocities on the public.
Fact: The image is that of Uttar Pradesh police beating a demonstrator, who was demanding justice to the deceased ‘Unnao rape victim’, during protests in Lucknow. So, the claim is FALSE.
The image is being shared in the context of the recent protests in Assam against the  Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019. The bill seeks to provide Indian citizenship to specific religious groups facing religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.
When the image in the post is subjected to Google reverse image search technique, many search results of it were obtained. From the article of ‘Asianet News’, it was found that the image shows Uttar Pradesh police beating a demonstrator during protests in Lucknow demanding justice to the deceased ‘Unnao rape victim’. So, the image is in no way related to any incident in Assam.
The same information about the photograph can also be seen in the ‘Free Press Journal’ article.
To summarize, an image of UP police beating a demonstrator during protests demanding justice to the deceased ‘Unnao rape victim’ is being shared with a false narrative.
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created: December 12, 2019


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Image from Yemen shared as dogs surrounding the dead body of their homeless owner in Gujarat - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 28, 2020
A post with an image of stray dogs surrounding the corpse of a man is being widely shared on social media with the claim that the man in the photo is Pappu Shukla from Gujarat and he used to feed those dogs every day. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Image of dogs surrounding the dead body of Pappu Shukla, a homeless man from Gujarat who fed them every day.
Fact: While the image of dogs surrounding the dead body of the person who fed them regularly is true, the corpse is not of a Gujarati man named Pappu Shukla. It is of a Yemen citizen named Isamial Hadi who fed the dogs daily. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
Reverse image search of the photo in the post led us to an Arabic news article which carried a similar image as that in the post. According to the article, the corpse is of a homeless Yemeni man Ismail Hadi and he used to feed the dogs which are surrounding his corpse daily.
Another news article, which states the same can be read here. Also, few social media posts which shared the same image and video of the incident claiming the man is a Yemeni can be seen here and here. With all this, we can conclude that the corpse is of a Yemen citizen named Ismail Hadi and not a Gujarati named Pappu Shukla.
To sum it up, corpse of a Yemen Citizen surrounded by dogs fed by him is shared as that of a homeless man from Gujarat.

created: October 28, 2020


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Image of a CISF soldier injured in a langur attack is passed off related to an attack by TMC worker - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 14, 2021
A post accompanying the image of an injured CISF soldier is being shared across social media platforms with a claim that the soldier has been attacked by TMC workers. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Image of CISF soldier injured in an attack by TMC workers.
Fact: The image actually shows a CISF soldier who got injured in a langur attack while he was on duty at the CISF camp at Bhimakanali in Dhanbad, Jharkhand. A Hindi regional news agency reported the same. The image has nothing to do with poll violence which took place in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The same image was shared by few BJP leaders on their social media accounts alleging TMC workers attacked CISF soldier. These posts can be seen here.
However, a reverse image search of the photo in the post led us to a Hindi regional news article dated 10 April 2021 which reported the same image. As per this article, the image shows ASI SP Sharma, who got injured in a langur attack while he was on duty at the CISF camp at Bhimakanali in Dhanbad, Jharkhand.
India Today contacted CISF sub-inspector Pradeep Kumar in Dhanbad who said that ‘it is ASI Sharma in the picture, who was attacked by a group of langurs on April 9 at around 6.30 pm. At that time, Sharma was posted at the BK-2 area at Baghmara’s Bharat Coking Coal Limited plant’. By all these, we can confirm that the CISF soldier shown in the image is injured in a langur attack but not in an attack by TMC workers.
In view of the poll violence which took place in Cooch Behar’s Sitalkuchi, misleading posts like these are being shared across media platforms
To sum it up, the image of a CISF soldier injured in a langur attack is passed off as if he is injured in an attack by TMC workers.


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Image of a crematorium in Bhopal is shared as that from Gujarat - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 19, 2021
A post accompanying an image of a crematorium that shows dead bodies being burnt in huge numbers is being shared across social media platforms with a claim that the image shows a cremation ground in Gujarat. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Image of a crematorium in Gujarat which shows the burning of dead bodies in large numbers.
Fact: The image actually shows a crematorium in Bhopal. Multiple news agencies published the image of the same crematorium attributing it to Bhopal. The image has nothing to do with Gujarat. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
Reverse image search of the photo in the post led us to a Hindi regional news article dated 13 April 2021 which published the same image. This article which reports about the spike in COVID-19 cases and deaths due to COVID-19 shared the same image as in the post.
Taking a cue from the above new article, Google search with relevant keywords led us to multiple news articles and news videos that showed the same cremation ground, though not the exact image as in the post. In one such news article by NDTV which reported about COVID-19 related deaths and the Madhya Pradesh government hiding the actual number of COVID-19 related deaths published the image of a crematorium similar to the one in the post. According to this article, it’s a crematorium in Bhopal.  By comparing the image in the news article with that of the one in the post, we can find many similarities which confirms that it’s a crematorium in Bhopal.
Free Press Journal also published the images of the same crematorium in its articles attributing them to Bhopal, these articles can be read here and here. Another news article which shared the image of the same crematorium attributing them to Bhopal can be read here.
A digitally edited version of the same image of the crematorium with a billboard of Narendra Modi is also doing rounds on the internet.
#ModiFailsIndia pic.twitter.com/yaI9ZIk54r
In view of news reports about increase in cases and deaths due to COVID-19 in Gujarat, posts like these are being shared across social media platforms with misleading claims.
To sum it up, image of a crematorium in Bhopal is being shared as that of a crematorium from Gujarat amidst the surge in COVID-19 cases.


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Image of a demonstrator holding ‘RSS Murdabad’ placard isn’t during the protests against the ‘JNU fee hike’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 19, 2019
A post with the image of a demonstrator holding ‘RSS murdabad’ placard seen along with other protestors is doing rounds on social media. The claim is that JNU students during their recent protest against the fee hike have held that placard against RSS. Let’s try to check the claim made in the post.
Image of a demonstrator holding ‘RSS murdabad’ placard during the recent protests against the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) fee hike.
Fact: The image shows policemen beating the students at Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) office in New Delhi when they protested in the Rohith Vemula case in January 2016. So, it is in no way related to the recent protests against the ‘JNU fee hike’ and the claim is FALSE.
From the article of ‘The Hindu’, it can be found that, since the past few days, students of Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU), New Delhi are protesting demanding the withdrawal of draft hostel manual and proposed hike in the hostel fees.
When the image in the post is subjected to Google reverse image search technique, many search results were obtained. Among them, the search result of ‘Catch News’ had the same image in its article published on February 2, 2016, regarding the assault of Delhi Police on students who were protesting seeking justice in the Rohith Vemula case.
With the above information, when searched on YouTube with relevant keywords, a news video of ‘ABP News’ regarding the incident was found. The video uploaded on January 31, 2016, had similar visuals as seen in the image and the same visual can be spotted at 1min: 55sec. From the description of that video, it was found that policemen had beaten students at Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) office in New Delhi when they protested seeking justice in the Rohith Vemula case. Rohit Vemula is a Ph.D. student who killed himself inside the campus of Hyderabad Central University (HCU) in January 2016.
To conclude, the image of a demonstrator holding ‘RSS Murdabad’ placard isn’t during the protests against the ‘JNU fee hike’.
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created: November 19, 2019


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Image of a girl in Bangladesh is falsely shared as a kidnapped girl seen with Tamil beggars in Mangalore - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 14, 2019
On several social media platforms, a collage with two photos of a girl is being shared widely with a claim that the girl in the photo was kidnapped and was seen with Tamil beggars in Mangalore. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Photo of girl seen in Mangalore with Tamil beggars.
Fact: The girl is holding a tray with Bangladeshi Currency notes. Also, a newspaper report mentions her to be a Bangladeshi girl. So, the claim that she was seen in Mangalore with Tamil beggars stands FALSE.
In the photo, the child holds a tray with some currency notes. When they are carefully observed, it can be found that it is not Indian Currency.  On closer observation, it is found to be Bangladeshi Currency.  Bangladesh Currency notes have an image of ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on them. The image on the notes held by the girl is of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
When the photo in the post is cropped and subjected to Google reverse image search technique, it was found in an article published by ‘Ajmer Comilla’ on July 13, 2019. The article was published based on a Facebook post put by a user ‘Asif Akbar’. As per the article, the girl was kidnapped nearly two years ago from Bagerhat city in Bangladesh. It was also mentioned in the article that the child was seen begging at multiple places in Dhaka.
The above findings lead us to the conclusion that the girl seen in the image is a Bangladeshi girl and she is not seen in Mangalore with Tamil beggars.
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Image of a ‘Lebanese’ girl who participated in a Muharram ritual is being falsely shared as that of an injured Kashmiri girl - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 16, 2019
An image of a girl with a bleeding head is being shared widely on social media with the claim that the image is from Kashmir. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Image of an injured Kashmiri girl bleeding with blood
Fact: The image is that of a Lebanese girl who took part in the Muharrum ritual ‘Ashura’ in 2005. Hence, the claim is FALSE.
When the image in the post was subjected to Google reverse image search technique, many search results of it were obtained. In the search results, it can be found that ‘Jafariya News’ has published an article about ‘Ashura observed with bloodstreams to mark Karbala tragedy’ and the same image can be seen in the article along with many other images. From the article, it was found that the image is that of a Lebanese girl who took part in the Muharram ritual ‘Ashura’ in 2005.
To conclude, an image of a ‘Lebanese’ girl who participated in a Muharram ritual in 2005 is being falsely shared as that of a Kashmiri girl.
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created: September 16, 2019


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Image of a man carrying a horse on his shoulders is shared with a false narrative - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 26, 2021
A post accompanying the image of a man carrying a horse on his shoulder is being shared on social media platforms. The claim with the message is that this man saved the life of a horse from a snake-bite by carrying it on his shoulders for 3 miles to reach a hospital. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Man saved the life of a snake-bitten horse by carrying it on his shoulders for 3 miles to reach a hospital.
Fact: The man Dmytro Khaladzhi carried the horse just to display his strength and his ability to do so. He is known for performing extraordinary feats like bending a metal rod with his teeth and carrying a fully-grown horse, getting run over by heavy trucks, etc. News articles also reported the same. The narrative of him saving the life of the horse is falsely being associated with him. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
Reverse image search of the photo in the post led us to a 2017 New York Post news article that published the same image. As per the article, the image shows Dmytro Khaladzhi, a Ukrainian strong man who is known for performing extraordinary feats like bending a metal rod with his teeth, carrying a fully-grown horse, getting run over by heavy trucks, etc. From this article, we can infer that he carried the horse just to display his strength but not save the life of a snake-bitten horse.
Taking a cue from the article, a YouTube search with relevant keywords led us to a YouTube video in which he can be seen lifting a horse.  Most probably, the image in the post might have been picked from here. Even from the description of the video, it can be inferred that Dmytro Khaladzhi lifted the horse just to display his strength, but not to save its life as claimed in the post.
Further search led us to an episode of ‘Ukraine’s Got Talent’ on YouTube in which Dmytro Khaladzhi can be seen performing a few of the above-mentioned feats. A biography on the website of the film ‘Ivan the Powerful’, in which Khaladzhi played the title character provides some more information about him.
To sum it up, image of a man carrying a horse on his shoulders is shared with a false narrative.

created: February 26, 2021


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Image of a man who died in 2016 is being shared with a false narrative - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 12, 2019
A post with a photo is being widely shared on Facebook claiming that it shows a 23-year-old man kidnapped and raped by three women in Telangana. Let’s analyze the authenticity of the claim in the post.
Image of a 23-year-old man kidnapped and raped by three women inTelangana.
Fact: The man in the image is Hasnain Warekar, a resident of Thane (Maharashtra). He died in 2016 after committing suicide. So, the claim is FALSE.
When the image in the post is subjected to Google reverse image search, the same image was found in an article of ‘Hindustan Times’. From that article dated 29 February 2016, it was found that the man in the image is Hasnain Warekar, a resident of Thane (Maharashtra). He had committed suicide after killing fourteen of his family members over a property dispute. From the tweet of ‘ANI’, it is learnt that the man in the photograph died in 2016 after committing suicide.
During the search process, it was found that the incident mentioned in the post took place in Eastern Pretoria of South Africa in 2017. Information about the incident can be read here.
To conclude, an image of a man who died in 2016 is being shared with a false narrative of ‘23-year-old man kidnapped and raped by three women in Telangana’
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Image of a man who resembles Nikola Tesla is passed off as a rare photo of Nikola Tesla with a woman - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 11, 2022
A social media post accompanying an image of a young man (who resembles Nikola Tesla) and a woman at the beach is being widely shared across with a claim that the image actually shows the real Nikola Tesla. The Hindi description accompanying the image in the post translates to ‘Nikola Tesla with a woman who spent most of his life alone. This is the only picture of Nikola Tesla with a woman’. Through this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Image of Nikola Tesla at a beach with a woman.
Fact: The man in the image is not Nikola Tesla. The image actually shows a swimming instructor with a bather at Midland beach, Staten Island. The image was taken in 1898 and the image is credited to the Museum of the City Of New York. Multiple stock image repositories also identified the man as a swimming instructor and not Nikola Tesla. Also it is clearly visible that the man in the image is wearing a sleeveless top with ‘Swimming Instructor’ written on it. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Although the man in the viral image bears resemblance to Nikola Tesla, he is not the revered scientist. Reverse image search of the photo led us to the website of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, wherein the same viral image got featured. The description accompanying the image reads “Swimming Instructor and Bather, Midland Beach, Staten Island, 1898”, and the image is credited to the Museum of the City Of New York.
Taking a cue from the above-mentioned source, search on museum of the city of New York website yielded the same image. As per the details provided, the image was captured in 1898, at Midland Beach, Staten Island. However, the description does not identify the persons seen in the image. But it is noteworthy to mention that the man in the image is wearing a sleeveless top with ‘Swimming Instructor’ written on it. This is also visible in the viral image.
Further search yielded the same image on a few stock image repositories (here & here). These websites identify the man as a swimming instructor and the woman as a bather. The description accompanying the image on Getty Images reads “1898: Portrait of a bathing suit-clad woman and a swimming instructor lying close to the surf on Midland Beach, Staten Island, New York. (Photo by Museum of the City of New York/Byron Collection/Getty Images)”.
The same image is featured in a listicle titled ‘the evolution of swimsuit’ by NBC News. The description of the image on this listicle is also similar to the description on Getty Images.  From all these, it is evident that the man in the image is not Nikola Tesla but a swimming instructor.
To sum it up, the image of a man who resembles Nikola Tesla is passed off as a rare photo of Nikola Tesla with a woman.

created: January 11, 2022


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Image of a Nandi idol excavated during renovation of a Temple is shared with a false communal narrative - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 2, 2021
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as the visuals of an excavated Nandi sculpture discovered inside a Mosque in India. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of an excavated Nandi idol found inside a Mosque.
Fact: The Nandi sculpture in the photo was discovered recently during the re-construction work of the Sellandiamman temple in Tamil Nadu. This Nandi idol was not found inside a Mosque in India. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, similar visuals were found in a video published by the ‘Puthiyathalaimurai TV’ news channel on 05 September 2021. This news channel reported it as the visuals of a 1000-year-old Nandi idol discovered inside a temple in the Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu. The ‘Puthiyathalaimurai TV’ news channel had published an article with the complete information related to this excavated Nandi statue. According to the details provided in the article, this Nandi statue was found during the re-construction work of the Sellandiamman temple in Ariyur village of Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu.
Reporting the same, several Tamil news websites have published articles in September 2021. They can be read here and here.
To sum it up, the image of a Nandi idol excavated during renovation of a temple in Tamil Nadu is shared with a false communal narrative.

created: December 2, 2021


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Image of a purported Tweet of Rahul Gandhi about Neeraj Chopra is not real - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 11, 2021
A post accompanying a screenshot of Rahul Gandhi’s tweet about Olympic medalist Neeraj Chopra is being shared on social media. The text in the tweet loosely translates to ‘Is it fair that he is standing second in line on the podium despite him winning the first place’. Through this article, let’s fact-check if Rahul Gandhi has made any such tweet as claimed in the post.
Claim: Rahul Gandhi’s tweet about Neeraj Chopra standing second in line on the podium.
Fact: Rahul Gandhi did not make any such tweet. The purported tweet shows the date of tweet as 05 August 2021, whereas Neeraj Chopra won the medal on 07 August 2021.  Another tweet of Rahul Gandhi congratulating Olympic medalist Ravi Dahiya at 4:51 pm on 05 August 2021 is digitally morphed so as to look like the purported tweet. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
There is no such tweet as claimed in the post on the timeline of Rahul Gandhi’s official Twitter account. While Neeraj Chopra won the medal on 07 August 2021, the purported image shows the date of the tweet as 05 August 2021 which proves that the image of the viral tweet is actually digitally created.
Further, the purported image shows that Rahul Gandhi made this tweet at 16:51 hours on 05 August 2021. However, exactly at the same time and on the same day, Rahul Gandhi tweeted congratulating another Olympic medalist Ravi Dahiya. Very likely, the image of this tweet of Rahul Gandhi is digitally morphed so as to look like the purported tweet in the post.
Further, Rahul Gandhi congratulated Neeraj Chopra through a Facebook post on 07 August 2021. However, there is no such tweet congratulating Neeraj Chopra on Rahul Gandhi’s official Twitter timeline.
To sum it up, the image of a purported tweet of Rahul Gandhi about Neeraj Chopra is actually a morphed one.


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Image of an American actor ‘Ian Michael Nelson’ is being shared with a false narrative - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 28, 2019
An image of a boy is being shared widely across Facebook. The claim is that the boy is Sami Abu Dyak (aged – 17 years) and he died in Israeli prison today due to medical negligence after being incarcerated for 11 years. Let’s check the authenticity of the claim.
The boy in the image is Sami Abu Dyak (aged -17 yrs) and he died in Israeli prison today due to medical negligence after being incarcerated for 11 years.
Fact: The boy in the image is American actor ‘Ian Nelson’ and he is active in movies for the past 9 years. A man named ‘Sami Abu Dyak’ died of cancer in an Israeli prison but his age is 36 years. So, the claim is FALSE.
When the image in the post is subjected to Google reverse image search technique, many search results were obtained. The search result of Internet Movie Database (IMDb), an online database of information related to films had the same image in the photo gallery of ‘Ian Michael Nelson’. When we went through the biography of Ian Nelson, he was found to be an actor and producer, well known for the movies ‘The Boy Next Door (2015)’ and ‘The Hunger Games (2012)’. More images of Ian Nelson can be seen on his Instagram account.
Through the Wikipedia page of Ian Michael Nelson, it was found that he is an American actor who has been active in movies since 2011. Also, no news reports were found about his death.
When searched about ‘Sami Abu Dyak’ on Google, many news articles about his death were found in the search results. But, he is not the one shown in the photo and his age is 36 years, not 17 years. According to an article in ‘Middle East Eye’, Sami Abu Diyak was ‘suffering from terminal cancer and had been refused compassionate leave to be with his family’.
To sum it up, an image of an American actor ‘Ian Michael Nelson’ is being shared with a false narrative.
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created: November 28, 2019


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Image of an artwork passed off as a baby born with a face resembling Lord Ganesha - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 19, 2022
Update (19 December 2022):
Another photo of a toddler-sized Ganapati is being shared on social media through a post. ‘..Vinayaka is born again,’ the post description reads. Let’s fact-check this claim through his article.
Claim: Picture of Lord Vinayaka, who is born again.
Fact: The viral photo is of a Lord Vinayaka’s idol, which was displayed in Maharashtra’s Ekta Ganesh Utsav Mandal in 2017. The photos of the original idol are available on their Facebook page and also on the website of Ganapati.tv, which conducts an annual contest for best home Ganapati decorations. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We ran a reverse image search on Google and found the same photo on a website known as Ganapati.tv, which, according to them, is ‘India’s first website organising a contest each year to award certificates for Best Home Ganapati Decoration Contest.’ The photo is available under the category of Ganesh festival 2017 pictures of Ekta Ganesh Utsav Mandal. You can also see their participation certificate here.
We looked for the social media profiles of Ekta Ganesh Utsav Mandal and found their Facebook page on which the original images of the Toddler Ganesha were uploaded. They even uploaded a video of the same idol, which can be seen here. With all this evidence, it is clear that the image shared in the post is of a Ganesh idol.
Published (22 March 2021):
A post accompanying an image of a newborn baby with a small trunk-like nose and bristled hair is being widely shared across social media platforms with a claim that the image actually shows a newborn with a face resembling Hindu God Lord Ganesha. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Image of a newborn baby with a face resembling Hindu God Lord Ganesha.
Fact: The image actually shows the artwork of Australian artist Patricia Piccinini. This particular artwork of a newborn baby with a small trunk-like nose was actually created in 2010 which depicts unsettling mutations of human and animal forms. This Artwork depicting mutations of human and animal form is misconstrued as a baby born with a face resembling Hindu God Lord Ganesha. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Reverse image search of the photo in the post led us to a news article by The Guardian dated 06 October 2017 which published an image similar to the one in the post. According to the article, the image actually shows an artwork titled Newborn, depicting an unsettling mutation of human and animal form by Australian artist Patricia Piccinini which she created using silicone, fibre, steel, human hair, and possum pelt.
Taking a cue from the article, further search led us to official website of Patricia Piccinini which showcases her numerous artworks. On this website, the image of a newborn with a small trunk same as the one in the post is catalogued under the 2010 artworks. This establishes that artwork depicting mutations of human and animal form is misconstrued as a baby born with a face resembling Hindu God Lord Ganesha
To sum it up, image of an artwork depicting mutations of human and animal form is passed off as a baby born with a face resembling Hindu God Lord Ganesha.

created: December 19, 2022


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Image of an artwork passed off as a picture of ‘Kissing Rock’ romantic spot in California - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 21, 2022
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as a picture of one of the most romantic spots in the United States. This post shared a photo of two mountain cliffs resembling a romantic couple. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Picture of the romantic mountain cliffs located on the shoreline of the Pacific Grove, California.
Fact: The picture shared in the post shows an artwork created by an artist named Durgasrinivas Yarramshetty. This image was created by editing a mountain cliff picture captured near the Koh Phi Phi Island in Thailand. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, the same picture was found published on the ‘Fine Art America’ website. The description of the photo states, “The kissing rock in Pacific Grove, California is a photograph by Durgasrinivas Yarramsetty which was uploaded on April 25th, 2017”. The photo shows an artwork created by an artist named Durgasrinivas Yarramsetty. The portfolio of Durgasrinivas Yarramsetty can be seen here. The same photo was published with a similar description on the ‘Pixels’ website.
When we searched for further details, it is found that this artwork was created by editing the mountain cliffs located near the Koh Phi Phi Island in Thailand.
The original pictures of the ‘Kissing Rocks’ romantic spot located along the coastline of Pacific Grove California can be seen here and here. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the image shared in the post is an artwork created by editing the picture of a mountain cliff in Thailand.
To sum it up, an image of artwork is falsely shared as the picture of ‘Kissing Rock’ romantic spot in California.


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Image of anti-CAA protest in Kolkata is being shared as a protest from Bihar. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 27, 2020
A post with an image of a street graffiti saying ‘Go Back Modi’ is being widely shared on social media with the claim that it’s a recent image from Bihar. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Image of a graffiti work saying ‘Go Back Modi’ in Bihar in the wake of the 2020 Assembly elections.
Fact: The image is of a protest in Kolkata against the CAA and NRC back in January 2020. This image has nothing to do with the ongoing assembly elections in Bihar. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Reverse image search of the photo in the post led us to a tweet by a journalist which carried a similar image. The tweet dates back to 11 January 2020. According to the tweet the image is from Kolkata.
Further search led us to news articles dated January 2020 which carried a similar image but from another angle. According to these articles, the image is of a protest against CAA and NRC in Kolkata. These articles can be read here and here.
Also, in the better version of the photo in the post shared by the journalist, the sign ‘METRO CHANNEL CONTROL POST ARE STREET POLICE STATION’ is visible on a building beside the road. Taking a cue from here,  a search on Google maps with relevant keywords led us to the location which is indeed in Kolkata. With all this, we can conclude that the image is related to protest in Kolkata against CAA and NRC and has nothing to do with the ongoing Bihar assembly elections.
To sum it up, the image being shared is of an anti-CAA protest in Kolkata in January 2020 and has nothing to do with the ongoing Bihar assembly elections.

created: October 27, 2020


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Image of ‘Border Patrol station in Texas’ is being shared as ‘Assam detention house’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 19, 2019
A post with an image is being widely shared on Facebook with the claim that it shows a detention centre in Assam. Let’s analyze the authenticity of the claim in the post.
Image of a detention centre in Assam.
Fact: The image is that of Border Patrol station in McAllen, Texas (USA). So, the claim is FALSE.
When the image in the post is subjected to reverse image search technique, many search results were obtained. From the search result of ‘Washington Post’, it was found that the image is that of Border Patrol station in McAllen, Texas (USA). In the article, the image had the following description- ‘An overcrowded, fenced area holds families at a Border Patrol station in McAllen, Tex., on June 10’.
To conclude, an image of ‘Border Patrol station in Texas’ is being shared as ‘Assam detention house’.
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created: December 19, 2019


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Image of buses paraded during Kumbh Mela shared as buses arranged by Priyanka Gandhi to transport migrant workers - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 19, 2020
An image of buses lined up is being shared with the claim that it shows the buses arranged by Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi for the transportation of migrant workers to native places. But FACTLY has found the image to be of the buses paraded during Kumbh Mela-2019 event. In March 2019, Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) has paraded 500 Kumbh Mela special buses in Prayagraj (Allahabad) for setting up a Guinness World Record for the largest parade of buses. Earlier, after Priyanka Gandhi wrote a letter to the UP government seeking permission to run 1000 buses for the transportation of stranded migrant workers to their homes, the UP government has accepted her offer and asked her to submit the requisite details.
Sources:
Claim – Facebook post (archived)
Fact –
1.  ‘ANI’ tweet – https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/1100976395646308353
2. News article – https://www.businessinsider.in/in-pics-this-indian-state-is-trying-to-set-a-world-record-by-parading-a-line-up-of-500-buses/articleshow/68199100.cms
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Image of chain clad Woman is from Sri Lanka, not India - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 1, 2020
A post with an image of a chain clad woman is doing rounds on social media with the claim that the woman is protesting against the BJP government in the wake of atrocities against women. Through this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Woman protesting against the BJP government in the wake of the atrocities against women by wearing a dress made out of chains.
Fact: The woman in the photo is not protesting against the BJP government. She is actually a Sri Lankan woman displaying the Osariya style attire which has origin in Palk Straits. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Reverse image search of the photo led us to a website in which image of the same woman in the same attire but from a different angle is featured. According to the website, the image is of a Sri Lankan woman displaying the Osariya style attire which has origin in Palk Straits.
Further search led us to a Sri Lankan YouTube video which carried the same visuals. The description of the video reads ‘valentine day in Sri Lanka- How to send classes on valentine day’. The video is uploaded in the channel on 13 February 2020.
When the image of the same woman in the same attire went viral with a similar claim back in 2019, FACTLY debunked the news which can be read here.
In the light of the alleged gang rape of a 19-year-old woman in Hathras, UP, posts like these are being widely shared on social media platforms with misleading claims.
To sum it up, the image of chain clad woman is from Sri Lanka and she is in Osariya attire.

created: October 1, 2020


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Image of children hanging onto a cable is from Nepal, not from Uttarakhand. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 14, 2020
A post claiming school children from Uttarakhand are hanging onto a cable in order to cross a river on their way to school is doing rounds on social media. Through this article lets fact-check the claim made in the post.
Uttarakhand school children hanging onto a cable to reach school
Fact: Reverse image search led us to many websites in which this image is featured and in all these websites the image is reported to be from Nepal. The image has nothing to do with Uttarakhand. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Reverse image search of the photo led us to a few website links in which the same image was featured. In one such link, we found the same image and according to the description below the image, the kids are crossing the Trishuli river on their way to school. Taking a cue from this, when we ran google search with the keyword ‘Trishuli river’, we found that the Trishuli river is one of the major tributaries of the Narayani river basin in central Nepal.
Another search result directed us to a news article which reported the image back in 2013. As per this article, the image in which kids are hanging onto a cable is from Nepal.
Further, the same image is featured in a listicle titled “Top 10 Dangerous Routes School Kids Around The World Have To Take Everyday”.  The description below of the image in the listicle reads “In the Benighat district of Nepal, children have to use these cable ropeways to reach their school on the other side”.
A couple of more search results in which the same image is featured can be seen here and here. Even in these, the image is reported to be that from Nepal.
From all these search results, it can be inferred that, though the image is on the internet for many years, none of these results attributed this image to Uttarakhand. In all these results the image was reported as from Nepal.
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Image of a CNN report stating that vaccine administered COVID-19 patients eating others is digitally created - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 28, 2020
A post is being shared on social media claiming that hospitals in the US are in lockdown again as the first COVID-19 vaccine patients started eating each other. A photo with the CNN news channel logo showing an operation theatre full of blood is being shared as evidence. In the wake of dry run of COVID-19 vaccine administration in India, this post is being shared on social media. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: US hospitals under lockdown after first COVID-19 vaccine patients start eating each other.
Fact: Photo shared in the post is an edited one. The operation theatre in the photo shows the condition of a trauma bay in the US after treating the victims of gun violence. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo is found in a tweet by a US medical professor on ‘02 September 2019’. In the tweet, he explains it as the picture of hospital operation theatre room after treating a gunshot victim. When we searched for more information using these keywords, a similar image was found in an article published by ‘The New York Times’ on ‘14 February 2019’. The photo in the article is credited to a medical student named Eric Curran and mentions it to be the scene from a trauma bay after treating the victims of gun violence.
A similar photo as shared in the post is also found in a meme creating website ‘iFunny’. This image is uploaded by a user named ‘flabbyankle’. From all these pieces of evidence, it is concluded that the photo shared in the post is an edited one.
To sum it up, an edited image is falsely shared as CNN news channel report on first COVID-19 vaccine patients turning into zombies.

created: December 28, 2020


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Image of deceased Ramana Maharshi is passed off as Sai Baba - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 27, 2022
An image of a man covered in garlands is going viral on social media platforms with a claim that it is the real photo of Sai Baba. Through this article let’s fact-check the veracity of the photo.
Claim: Real photo of Sai Baba.
Fact: The image is actually of Ramana Maharshi, a 20th-century Indian sage. This image was clicked on 14 April 1950, after the death of Ramana Maharshi. This image has been published in one of the newsletters of the Sri Ramana Maharshi Ashram, which is available on the ashram website. This image has nothing to do with Sai Baba as claimed in the viral post. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The viral photo actually shows the 20th-century Indian sage Ramana Maharshi, not Sai Baba. A reverse image search of the viral photo led us to a newsletter of the Sri Ramana Maharshi Ashram, in which the same image was published. The image was clicked when Ramana Maharshi passed away on 14 April 1950.
The same image is also published on a website that features the timeline of major events in the life of Ramana Maharshi. We can conclude the same with the description associated with the image on the website. It is to be noted that this is not the official website of Ramana Maharishi. On the other hand, the oldest image of Sai Baba can be viewed on the official website of Shri Sai Baba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi.
To sum it up, an image of deceased Ramana Maharshi passed off as Sai Baba.

created: January 27, 2022


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Image of defunct NSA spy station in Berlin is passed off as a Mosque in Turkey - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 21, 2021
A social media post accompanying an image of a dome-like structure is being shared widely with a claim that the structure represents a Mosque in Turkey.  Let’s fact-check the veracity of the claim made in the post.
Claim: Image of a Mosque in Turkey.
Fact: The image is actually of an NSA spy station in Berlin, which is used to intercept the communications in Russian controlled East Germany till the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 during the cold war era. The image has nothing to do with Turkey. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The structure is neither a Mosque nor it is in Turkey. Reverse image search of the photo in the post yielded multiple news articles which published the same image. As per these articles, the structure is actually a cold war era NSA (National Security Agency, America) listening station at the Teufelsberg hill in Berlin, which is currently defunct.
As per the DW article, this abandoned listening or intelligence gathering station was once used during the cold war by the Americans and British to intercept the communications in Russian-controlled East Germany till the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The station was built on Teufelsberg, a manmade hill in the Grunewald forest, Germany.
News articles about this dilapidated spy station which carried images similar to the one in the post can be read here, here, and here. Hence, all these establish that the image is indeed of a spy station in Germany and not of a Mosque in Turkey.
To sum it up, the image of a defunct NSA spy station in Berlin is passed off as a Mosque in Turkey.

created: September 21, 2021


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Image of Devil’s Slide Tunnel, California is falsely shared as that of Atal Tunnel - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 7, 2020
A post with the image of a tunnel is being widely shared on social media with the claim that it is the image is of ‘Atal Tunnel’ which was recently inaugurated in Rohtang by the Prime Minister. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Image of Atal tunnel which is recently inaugurated in Rohtang.
Fact: The image in the post is actually of devils slide tunnel also known as Tom Lantos tunnels which is in California, US. We can spot a few   differences when we compare the entrances of the tunnels shared in the post and the one PM Modi has inaugurated recently in Rohtang. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
Reverse image search of the photo in the post led us to a blog which carried the same image like the one in the post. In the blog, the image is posted under the title ‘Inside the devil’s slide tunnel’. Taking a cue from here, we did a Google search with the keyword ‘devils slide tunnel’ and that led us to California State Metropolitan Transportation Commission website which shared the inauguration video of the tunnel. According to the website, the tunnel is also called Tom Lantos Tunnel and is located in California. Construction video of the devil’s slide tunnel can be seen here.
Further Prime Minister Modi shared the images of the Atal tunnel on his twitter account. The entrance of the tunnel in the images shared by PM is completely different from that of the one shared in the post. With this, we can say that the image of the tunnel in the post is not of Atal tunnel.
The #AtalTunnel is a game changing infrastructure project that will help several citizens. With this project comes several economic benefits, particularly for agriculture and tourism. pic.twitter.com/6gAwK5QR4Y
Some features of Atal Tunnel:
Some features of Devils slide tunnel:
To sum it up, the image in the post is not of Atal tunnel which is recently inaugurated in Rohtang.

created: October 7, 2020


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Image of former Punjab minister is digitally morphed to make it look like he is carrying a condom packet - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 28, 2021
Farmers in large numbers are protesting at the Singhu border since the passage of the three farm laws. They have renewed their action plan and are currently protesting in the national capital during the ongoing parliament session. It is in this light a post accompanying an image of a Sikh man in which he appears to be carrying a condom packet in his shirt pocket is being shared. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Image of a protesting farmer carrying condom packet in his pocket.
Fact: This image is of former Punjab minister Sucha Singh Langah of the Akali Dal and the image is available on internet at least since 2018. However the original does not show any condom pack in his pocket. This image is digitally morphed so as to look like Langah is carrying a condom packet in his pocket. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Upon reverse image search, we found the same image published in a news article dated 18 August 2018 and the article identifies the man as former Punjab minister Sucha Singh Langah of the Akali Dal. This proves that the image has nothing to do with the ongoing farmers’ protest. Further, on close observation of this image, it is evident that there is no condom packet in his shirt pocket.
Punjab Kesari’s news article also published the same image of Langah in an article back in 2020. Even the image in this article does not show any condom packet in Langah’s pocket. From all these, it is evident that the photo of former Punjab minister Sucha Singh Langah of the Akali Dal is digitally morphed so as to look like he is carrying a condom packet in his pocket.
To sum it up, an image of former Punjab minister Sucha Singh Langah of the Akali Dal is digitally morphed so as to look like he is carrying a condom packet in his pocket.


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Image of honour killing victim from Telangana is passed off as Pulwama attack martyr - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 15, 2021
A post accompanying the image of a toddler looking at a photo frame of a young man is being shared with a claim that the young man is a victim of the 2019 Pulwama terrorist attack and that the toddler is his son. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Image of 2019 Pulwama attack victim.
Fact: The young man in the image is actually an honour killing victim, who was allegedly killed by goons hired by his father-in-law back in 2018 in Telangana’s Nalgonda district. The woman in the post is his wife and the photo was clicked on their son’s first birthday. The image has nothing to do with the Pulwama attack.  Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Reverse image search of the photo in the post yielded us many YouTube videos and social media posts in which the same image is featured. One such YouTube video titled ‘Amrutha Pranay Son Birthday Celebrations Special Video | Amrutha Pranay Son Nihan Latest Pics’ which shared the same image as in the post can be seen here.
Taking a cue from the YouTube video, Google search with relevant keywords yielded us multiple news articles and videos which reported the images of a young man and women as seen in the image in the post. According to BBC’s article dated 20 September 2018, the man seen in the photo is Pranay, a victim of honour killing, who was killed in Telangana’s Nalgonda district back in 2018 by goons hired by his father-in-law. The young woman seen in the image in the post is Amrutha, wife of Pranay. News articles by NDTV and Hindustan Times about this incident can be read here and here.
Further search led us to verified YouTube channel of ‘Amrutha Pranay’.  As per this channel the viral image was clicked on their son’s first birthday.
In view of the second anniversary of Pulwama terrorist attack in which 40 Indian soldiers were killed on 14 February 2019, posts like these are being shared on social media with misleading claims. The images of the CRPF jawans who were martyred in the Pulwama attack can be found in the tweet made by CRPF’s official Twitter account. The image of the young man seen in the post is not featured in this list of martyred soldiers. From all these, it is evident that the young man in the post is not a Pulwama martyr.
Bravehearts of CRPF who made the supreme sacrifice and attained martyrdom in the Pulwama attack on 14/02/2019. pic.twitter.com/eHrPnYaSGV
When the same image went viral with the same claim back in 2020 FACTLY wrote an article debunking the claim. That fact-check can be read here.
To sum it up, image of honour killing victim from Telangana is passed off as Pulwama attack martyr.

created: February 15, 2021


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Image of Kanhaiya Kumar seen standing before a map with few Indian states shown as a part of Pakistan is photoshopped - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 22, 2019
An image of Kanhaiya Kumar giving a speech before a map with Kashmir and Gujarat shown as a part of Pakistan is being shared widely on social media. Let’s try to check the claim made in the post.
Image shows Kanhaiya Kumar giving a speech before a map with few states of India shown as a part of Pakistan’.
Fact: The image in the post is a photoshopped one. In the original image, there is no map behind Kanhaiya Kumar. So, the claim is FALSE.
When the image in the post is subjected to Google reverse image search technique, a link of ‘The Hindu’ article was obtained in the search results. The article had a similar image, but there was no map behind Kanaiah Kumar.
In the search results, a video was also obtained and in the video, Kanhaiya Kumar can be seen giving a speech with the same shirt on and also, holding a pen in his right hand as seen in the image posted. But in that video, no map can be seen in the background during his entire speech. So, the image in the post is a photoshopped one.
To conclude, this image of Kanhaiya Kumar standing before a map with few Indian states shown as a part of Pakistan is photoshopped.
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created: November 22, 2019


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Image of Kejriwal holding bow and arrow in reverse direction is a morphed one - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 17, 2022
In the context of recently concluded Dusshera celebration at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, an image of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal holding a bow and the arrow in reverse direction to shoot the effigy of Ravan is being widely shared on social media claiming that he doesn’t even know how to hold a bow and shoot an arrow. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of Arvind Kejriwal holding a bow and arrow in reverse direction.
Fact: The original images and videos shared on Kejriwal’s official Twitter account on 05 October 2022 shows him holding the bow and arrow in the correct way. Also, the images shared by other social media users taken from different angle shows him holding bow and arrow in a proper way. The viral image is a morphed one. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We did a reverse image search and found the original image featured in news reports by Indian Express and Business Standard. In these photos, Arvind Kejriwal can be seen holding the bow and arrow correctly.
This image was originally shared by Kejriwal’s official Twitter handle on 05 October 2022, along with other images of him participating in ‘Ravan Dahan’ at Ramlila Maidan. Arvind Kejriwal also posted a video of this event, in which he can be seen holding the bow and arrow correctly and releasing the arrow in the right direction at 1:48 minutes. Other social media users posted the image of Kejriwal holding the bow and arrow correctly. They can be seen here and here.
जिस तरह मर्यादा पुरुषोत्तम प्रभु श्री रामचंद्र जी ने रावण का वध किया था, उसी तरह हम सबको मिलकर देश और समाज में फैली रावण रूपी बुराईयों का अंत करना है।
जय श्री राम। 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Zfg0F6nhFt
To sum it up, the image of Kejriwal holding the bow and arrow in reverse direction is a morphed one.

created: October 17, 2022


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Image of Mahatma Gandhi in close proximity to a woman is photoshopped - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 4, 2019
On social media, an image of Mahatma Gandhi seen in close proximity to a woman is being shared widely. Let’s try to check the authenticity of that image.
Image of Mahatma Gandhi in close proximity to a woman.
Fact: The original image is that of Mahatma Gandhi with Jawaharlal Nehru. It is photoshopped to replace Nehru with a woman. Hence, the claim is FALSE.
When the photo in the post was subjected to the reverse image search technique, several search results were obtained. From those search results, the image in the post seemed to be a photoshopped one. The original image was found in the ‘AP’ Photo library. The image had the following text with it- ‘Bespectacled Mahatma Gandhi, who eventually led India to its independence, laughs with the man who was to be the nation’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, at the All-India Congress committee meeting in Bombay, India, on July 6, 1946. Nehru took office as president of the Congress during the session. Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violent resistance, including civil disobedience and fasts, drove India to independence in 1947 after nearly 200 years of British rule. The father of modern India, the Mahatma, which means great soul, was assassinated in 1948 for his tolerance of other religions’.
To conclude, the image of Gandhi in close proximity to a woman is a photoshopped one. The original image is that of Mahatma Gandhi with Jawaharlal Nehru.
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created: October 4, 2019


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Image of mask clad Rahul Gandhi is being shared with a sarcastic claim - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 29, 2021
A post accompanying an image of mask clad Rahul Gandhi sitting alongside women on a dining table is being shared on social media with a sarcastic claim that ‘Rahul Gandhi is the only person who can eat food with mask covering his mouth’. Through this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Rahul Gandhi eating food with his mask on.
Fact: This photo was clicked when mask-clad Rahul Gandhi was talking to women next to him after having lunch in Erode, Tamil Nadu during the election campaign. Rahul Gandhi did not wear a mask during the meal. News videos of his lunch with weavers in Erode are available. Also, multiple news articles published his image without a mask while he is eating. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Reverse image search of the photo in the post led us to a tweet by Tamil Nadu Congress Committee which shared an image similar to the one in the post alongside another set of images in which Rahul Gandhi can be seen without a mask while he is eating.
அன்பும் பண்பும் நிறைந்த தமிழ் மக்களோடு உணவு உண்டது மகிழ்ச்சி அளிக்கிறது.
– தலைவர் ராகுல் காந்தி#ThalaivarRahulGandhi#VaangaOruKaiPaapom pic.twitter.com/hhc1VNvK1E
Google search with relevant keywords led us to a news report by The Hindu which published an image of Rahul Gandhi without any mask while he is eating. As per the article, the image is from Rahul Gandhi’s lunch with weavers in Odanilai during his visit to Erode. Further search led us to few regional and online news articles which published an image of Rahul Gandhi having lunch without his mask on. These articles can be seen here and here. Few noted Tamil Nadu Congress leaders also shared the images of Rahul Gandhi without a mask, these can be seen here and here.
Further YouTube search with relevant keywords led us to a Tamil regional news video which published the video footage of Rahul Gandhi’s lunch. Even in this video, we can spot Rahul Gandhi without a mask while having  lunch.
To sum it up, the image of mask-clad Rahul Gandhi is being shared with a sarcastic claim that he is eating food with his mask on.

created: January 29, 2021