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Morphed image shared as Amit Shah eating fish biryani in West Bengal amidst farmers' protests - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 24, 2020
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as the picture of Home Minister Amit Shah having fish-biryani in West Bengal. The post claims that Amit Shah is eating Biryani while farmers are protesting on the streets in the heavy cold. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of Amit Shah eating fish biryani in West Bengal.
Fact: Photo shared in the post is a morphed one. In the original photo, Amit Shah was provided with a vegetable platter with Bengal delicacies. This photo was captured while Amit Shah was having lunch at a farmer’s house in Midnapore district of West Bengal. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the screenshots shared in the post, the original photo is found in an article published by ‘The Economic Times’ on ’19 December 2020’. In the original photo, Amit Shah was seen eating rice and vegetable dishes. In the article, it is reported as the photo of  Amit Shah having lunch at farmer’s house in Midnapore district, West Bengal. This event took place on ’19 December 2020’ during Amit Shah’s two-day rally programme in West Bengal. The farmer’s family provided Amit Shah a vegetable platter with Bengal delicacies.
Amit Shah shared this photo on his Twitter handle while expressing his gratitude to the farmer’s family. BJP West Bengal also shared the original photo on their official Twitter handle. More articles about Amit Shah’s visit to the farmer house in West Bengal can be found here and here.
During his November 2020 visit to West Bengal, Amit Shah had a similar lunch in a tribal BJP party worker’s home. Amit Shah was provided with a similar vegetable platter by the tribal family.
To sum it up, a morphed image is being shared as the photo of Amit Shah eating fish biryani in West Bengal while farmers are protesting in the streets.

created: December 24, 2020


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Morphed image shared as billboard stating journalist Anjana Kashyap as unofficial spokesperson of BJP - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 11, 2022
An image of a billboard displaying the picture of News Anchor Anjana Om Kashyap along with the text “I am not Journalist. I’m Unofficial Spokesperson of BJP” is being widely shared on social media claiming that someone has setup this poster at an overbridge in Delhi. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Billboard displayed at an overbridge in Delhi states journalist Anjana Kashyap is an unofficial spokesperson of BJP.
Fact: The text on the billboard is altered. The text on original billboard image shared by India Today in 2017 reads, “ANJANA, REACHED AND WAITING”. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We did a reverse image search and found that the same image has been viral since 2019. When Anjana allegedly insulted Rahul Gandhi in 2019, this billboard image went viral calling her the “Unofficial spokesperson of BJP”. Some parody accounts also shared this image later. Some of the posts can be seen here and here
#anjanaommodi
Retweet for this pic.twitter.com/iyfAZJ3UfZ
Further research led us to a Twitter post by India Today on 01 May 2017. The post shows a billboard ad featuring Anjana.
News does not wait. It breaks.
And whenever it does, it finds us ready.
No buffering here. Only connecting. #ReachedAndWaiting pic.twitter.com/qSyWuxpvAW
By comparing the two images, it is evident that the text on this billboard is altered.
Similarly, the same billboard image is used to mock other media personalities as well. They can be seen here and here
To sum it up, image of a billboard displaying Anjana Om Kashyap with the text “I am not Journalist. I’m Unofficial Spokesperson of BJP” is a morphed one.

source: news-factly

created: October 11, 2022

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

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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Morphed image shared as first picture of Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt's newborn baby girl - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 16, 2022
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it is the first picture of Alia Bhatt’s newborn baby girl. This photo shows Alia Bhatt holding a baby in her arms. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: First picture of Alia Bhatt and Ranbir’s newborn baby girl.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is a morphed one. The original photo shows author Ali Maffucci holding her identical twin boys in September 2021. Alia Bhatt’s face was overlaid on Ali Maffucci’s face in the original photo and alleged to be the first picture of Alia Bhatt’s newborn baby girl. As of now, Ranbir and Alia did not publicly share the picture of their daughter. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched to check whether Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor shared this picture on social media, we could not find this picture in any of the official social media handles. On 06 November 2022, Alia Bhatt and Ranbir announced the birth of their first baby girl through social media. As of now, Ranbir and Alia did not share the pictures of their daughter. Even the media could not click the clear photographs of Ranbir and Alia’s daughter.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found in a blog post published by an author named Ali Maffucci on the ‘Inspiralized’ blog site. Ali Maffucci in the blog post detailed the birth story of her identical twin boys, Rio and Sol. The original photo shows Ali Maffucci holding her identical twin boys, and she shared similar pictures of her newborn twin boys on her Instagram page, on 12 September 2021. The latest pictures of these twin boys can be seen here and here.
On comparing Ali Maffucci’s photo with the photo shared in the post, one could conclude that the baby Alia Bhatt is seen holding in the viral photo is identical to the baby Ali Maffucci is holding in her left arm in the original photo. The photo shared in the post was created by editing Alia Bhatt’s face on Maffucci’s face in the original photo.
To sum it up, a morphed image is being shared as the first picture of Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt’s newborn baby girl.

created: November 16, 2022


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Morphed image shared as Hardik Patel talking about his plan to discredit Modi by spreading violence - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 10, 2020
A news clip purportedly of ‘Dainik Jagran’ is shared on social media claiming that Hardik Patel has made the statement – ‘The plan was to discredit Modi by spreading violence across the country, Kejriwal used to arrange money from Ford Foundation’. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Dainik Jagran’s article on Hardik Patel stating the plan to discredit Modi by spreading violence in the country, and Kejriwal’s support to fund this through the Ford Foundation
Fact: Hardik Patel hasn’t made any such statement. The ‘Dainik Jagran’ epaper clip from 2013 is morphed and edited with a different title. The original title mentions about 150 Mulsim families accepting the Hindu religion. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched on the internet about the news mentioned in the post, it is found that this image of Dainik Jargarn’s article was in circulation since 2015 and was found as a text post on 5 November 2015.
When we observe the headline carefully, one can notice that it is not in proper alignment with the borders and looks to be edited. When searched if Hardik Patel ever made such a statement about spreading violence in the country to discredit Modi, no relevant results were found. Also, the content in the article talks about the religious conversion of 150 Muslim families in the presence of Badrinath Dham’s Shankaracharya. Hence the image looks to be an edited one.
The image shared also has an epaper URL of Dainik Jagaran’s article, which is currently not available. But when searched with relevant keywords from the content and by applying time filter, search results with the same URL and content, but with a different headline were found. The image found on ‘World Hindu News’ has the headline ‘150 मुस्लिम परिवार हिंदू धर्म में शामिल’. On further search, the original story published by Dainik Jagaran was also found.
Based on the above findings, it is clear that the headline of an article published by Dainik Jagran on 24 December 2013, about conversion of 150 Muslim families into Hindu religion, is edited to claim that Hardik Patel accepting his plan to discredit Modi by spreading violence in the country, and Kejriwal’s support to fund this through the Ford Foundation.
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Morphed image shared as hoarding against the Narendra Modi led BJP Government - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 9, 2021
An image of hoarding with PM Narendra Modi’s photo is being shared on social media claiming it as the anti-Modi poster at a busy road in India. In the wake of increasing fuel prices in India, this poster asks people not to vote for Narendra Modi led BJP Government. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of a hoarding asking for the removal of Modi government due to increasing prices.
Fact: The Photo shared in the post is an edited one. The original poster praises the Narendra Modi led BJP Government and asks people to stand with Modi. This poster of Narendra Modi is seen at a Delhi street in December 2014. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo of Narendra Modi hoarding was found in the ‘Live Mint’ article published on 29 December 2014. The original poster praises BJP Government under the leadership of Narendra Modi. Also, it asks people to support Narendra Modi and stand by him. The ‘Live Mint’ article reported it as the Narendra Modi poster at a street in Delhi ahead of the Assembly Elections in early 2015. This photo is credited to the ‘Live Mint’ photographer, Pradeep Gaur.
The original poster is also found in the articles published by other news websites. They can be seen here and here. Earlier, the same image of hoarding was morphed to show the difference in petrol prices between 2013 and 2018. Tweets with this image can be seen here and here. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that Narendra Modi’s hoarding shared in the post is a morphed one.
Seeing that petrol pumps are being threatened to put up a picture of Modiji,
I suggest them to use the following picture – pic.twitter.com/xHiOzwJCtb
To sum it up, a morphed photo is being shared as a hoarding against the Narendra Modi led BJP Government


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Morphed image shared as man urinating on Congress party wall poster - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 12, 2021
A post with an image that shows a man urinating on Congress party wall poster is being shared across social media platforms. Through this article let’s fact-check the veracity of the image in the post.
Claim: Image showing a man urinating on Congress party wall poster.
Fact: In the original image, the man was urinating on an empty wall. The image was featured in a 2016 listicle. This image of a man urinating on an empty wall is digitally edited to look like he is urinating on Congress party wall poster. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Reverse image search of the photo in the post led us to a 2016 listicle titled ‘18 hilarious photos where Indians prove that ‘Rules are meant to be broken’ by a news agency in which the same image of man urinating is featured. However, the original image in the listicle shows a man urinating on an empty wall but not on Congress party wall poster.
Also, the same image of a man urinating was featured in a couple of other similar listicles which can be read here and here. Even in these two listicles, the man was urinating on an empty wall. Further reverse image search of the image in the post led us to a 2009 news article which carried an image of Congress party wall poster which is similar to the one in the post. It is possible that this image of congress party wall poster is digitally placed on the wall on which the man was urinating.
Earlier the same image of a urinating man in the listicle was digitally edited to make it look like the man was urinating on Narendra Modi’s wall poster. This was also widely shared on social media. All these establish the fact that the image of man urinating on an empty wall was digitally edited to look like the man is urinating on Congress party wall poster or for that matter any other political party wall poster.
To sum it up, the image of a man urinating on an empty wall is digitally edited to look like he is urinating on Congress party wall poster.

created: January 12, 2021


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Morphed image shared as Modi riding bicycle alongside drug case accused Pamela Goswami - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 5, 2021
A post accompanying an image of Modi riding bicycle alongside the West Bengal drug case accused Pamela Goswami is being widely shared across social media platforms. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Image of Modi riding bicycle alongside drug case accused Pamela Goswami.
Fact: Image of Modi on a bicycle gifted by the Dutch Prime Minister during his visit to the Netherlands back in 2017 is digitally placed alongside Pamela Goswami. Both Pamela Goswami and Narendra Modi shared their individual images on bicycles on their respective social media accounts. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Reverse image search of the photo in the post led us to the original image of Pamela Goswami riding a bicycle which she shared on her Facebook account on 01 December 2020.
Further simple Google search with keywords ‘Modi riding Bicycle’ yielded many news articles which shared the mirror image version of Modi’s photo in the post. According to one such article by Indian Express,  the image was clicked when the Dutch PM Mark Rutte gifted it to Modi during his visit to the Netherlands back in 2017. Another news article by Economic Times also shared few images of Modi on a bicycle from his visit to the Netherlands. From all these, it is evident that this image of Modi is digitally morphed and placed alongside Pamela Goswami.
Narendra Modi also shared few images of him with the bicycle gifted by the Netherlands Prime Minister on his twitter account.
Thank you @MinPres @markrutte for the bicycle. pic.twitter.com/tTVPfGNC9k
To sum it up, this image of Modi riding bicycle alongside of Pamela Goswami is digitally morphed.


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Morphed image shared as photographer lying on the ground to capture PM Modi’s photo - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 4, 2022
An image of a photographer lying on ground while capturing a photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being widely shared on social media. Let’s find out the truth behind this image.
Claim: Image of photographer lying on the ground while capturing the photo of PM Narendra Modi.
Fact: This photo was captured on 02 October 2021 during PM Modi’s visit to Gandhi Smriti. The original image shared on Modi’s Twitter account and other news agencies doesn’t show any photographer lying on the ground. The image of photographer lying on the ground was uploaded on stock photography website Alamy in 2017. This image was inserted into PM Modi’s photo. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Reverse image search led us to the original image shared by Official Twitter handle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 02 October 2021. These photos were taken when Modi visited Gandhi Smriti in Delhi to offer tributes to Mahatma Gandhi.
Took part in a prayer meeting at the Gandhi Smriti in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/bP2xuv7rRr
Photos published by ANI news, The Siasat Daily about this this event also do not show any photographer lying on the ground. The live streamed video of this event available on PM Modi’s YouTube channel also confirms the same.
We then did a reverse image search by cropping the photographer’s image and found this photo on stock photography website Alamy with the title, “Photographer lying on the ground while photographing a large building from different perspective”. Description shows that this photo was taken on 15 March 2017. This stock image is inserted into Modi’s photo to create a morphed image
To sum it up, a morphed image is being shared as photographer lying on the ground to capture a photo of PM Narendra Modi.

created: October 4, 2022


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Morphed image shared as Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut serving tea to PM Modi - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 15, 2021
A video accompanying a social media post is being widely shared online claiming that Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut who criticises PM Modi for having been a tea seller was serving tea to Prime Minister Modi, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, and others. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut serving tea to PM Narendra Modi.
Fact: This video is edited and a morphed image of Sanjay Raut making tea was added to make it look like he was making tea for PM Modi. The original visuals were taken during a meeting between Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, and Minister Ashok Chavan with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 08 June 2021. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When reverse image search was done on the screenshots of the video, a news article was found with a similar image. This news article says that on 08 June 2021, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his 7 Lok Kalyan Marg residence in New Delhi. According to the news article, accompanied by state finance minister Ajit Pawar and PWD Minister Ashok Chavan, Thackeray discussed 12 subjects with Modi for close to an hour. Other news articles about this meeting can be seen here, here, and here. None of the images in the news articles had Sanjay Raut.
Uddhav Thackeray along with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Minister Ashok Chavan had met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi according to a Twitter post from the official account of Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Even in this post, there is no mention of Sanjay Raut.
CM Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray met with the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today along with Deputy CM Ajit Pawar & Minister Ashok Chavan. pic.twitter.com/TLbTrwEKeH
When the screenshots of the video are taken and compared, it can be seen that they are morphed. It is clear that tea glasses were added to the real image of the meeting between Modi and Uddhav Thackeray.
A news article published on 26 March 2020 where Sanjay Raut was seen playing harmonium is morphed and added to the video in the post. Another article about this incident can be seen here.
To sum it up, morphed visuals are being shared as Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut is serving tea to PM Modi.


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Morphed image shared as Shiva Linga hanging between two mountains - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 21, 2020
A post with an image of a Shiva Linga sculpture situated between two mountains is being widely shared on social media with the claim that the sculpture is in India. Through this article let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: An image of a Shiva Linga sculpture situated between two mountains in India.
Fact: Image of a hanging rock in Norway is photoshopped so as to look like a Shiva lingam hanging between two mountains. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Reverse image search of the photo in the post led us to a listicle which carried a similar image. The title of the listicle reads “15 reasons why Norway will rock your world”. The listicle identifies the image as ‘Majestic Hanging Stone, Kjerag’ in Norway.
Taking a cue from the listicle, search on Google Maps with the relevant keywords led us to Kjeragbolton in Norway where the small rock can be seen hanging between two mountains similar to the image seen in the post. Video of the mountain can be seen here. With this, we can say that the image of hanging rock is digitally morphed so as to look like a Shiva Lingam  hanging between two mountains.
To sum it up, the image of a hanging rock in Norway is photoshopped so as to look like a Shiva lingam hanging between two mountains.

created: October 21, 2020


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Morphed image shared as TIME magazine cover featuring PM Modi with Hitler moustache - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 24, 2022
A purported image of a ‘TIME’ magazine cover page featuring PM Narendra Modi with a Hitler Moustache is being shared on social media claiming through a post. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Image of TIME magazine featuring Narendra Modi with Hitler moustache.
Fact: There has been no issue released recently by the TIME magazine that has Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its cover. A similar artwork of Vladimir Putin with a Hitler moustache was also falsely shared as a TIME magazine cover. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched for the latest front cover of TIME Magazine, a photo was found retweeted by official twitter handle of TIME magazine. We could not find the same photo of PM Modi featuring Hitler moustache.
This week's @TIME cover for our Oceans Issue. It's a sculpture made of recycled plastic garbage bags by @HughKretschmer. Read my story on our climate covers and Hugh's amazing art at https://t.co/HXLK9xZnH9
And for more about the ocean's untapped power: https://t.co/S8M2oZCOvI pic.twitter.com/MxjRf0w0XA
A simple Google search on ‘TIME magazine covers’, took us to the Vault, the TIME magazine’s online archive where all the covers published by the magazine are stored. When one looks for the TIME magazine covers for the year 2022, none of them featured the cover of Narendra Modi with a Hitler moustache.
Earlier, a similar artwork of Vladimir Putin with a Hitler moustache was made viral on social media as a TIME magazine cover; Factly had written an article debunking the same. Factly had written couple of fact-check articles (here and here), when TIME magazine covers are deliberately used to defame PM Modi.
My TIME artwork has gone viral – so I thought it would be appropriate for me to write a little about it. The image is one out of a sequence of three I created on the day Russia invaded Ukraine. I felt the official cover by TIME was uninspired and lacked conviction. pic.twitter.com/m5P5rorqgt
To sum it up, morphed image shared as TIME magazine cover featuring PM Narendra Modi with Hitler moustache.


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Morphed image shared as visuals of Mamata Banerjee suddenly walking away from her wheelchair - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 17, 2021
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as visuals of injured Mamata Banerjee suddenly standing up and walking away from her wheelchair. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was injured during the election campaign held in Nandigram on 10 March 2021.  Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of Mamata Banerjee suddenly getting up and walking away from her wheelchair.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is an edited one. The original photo shows West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee coming out of the hospital in a wheelchair. This photo was captured when Mamata Banerjee was discharged from the SSKM Hospital on 12 March 2021. This morphed photo was created by a photo editor named Krishna. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, we found out that the photo was captured when Mamata Banerjee was discharged from the SSKM hospital in Kolkata on 12 March 2021. In the original photo, Mamata Banerjee was coming out of the hospital in a wheelchair. This original photo was published in several news articles. They can be seen here and here. Also, the photo shared in the post shows Mamata Banerjee with no spectacles, while she actually wore them during her discharge.
This morphed photo was created by a photo editor named Krishna. Krishna shared this edited image on his Twitter handle on 14 March 2021.
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress Party leader Mamata Banerjee was admitted to the  SSKM hospital on 10 March 2021 after she was injured during a religious event held in Nandigram. Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress party leaders alleged it as a deliberate attack planned by a few unknown persons. BJP and Congress called this attack a tactic to gain sympathy before the elections. The Election Commission ruled out the allegations of a pre-meditated attack on West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.
To sum it up, an edited image is falsely shared as visuals of injured Mamata Banerjee suddenly getting up and walking away from her wheelchair.


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Morphed image shared as visuals of PM Modi bowing to Nita Ambani - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 23, 2021
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as visuals of Prime Minister Narendra Modi bowing with folded hands to Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani’s wife Nita Ambani. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of PM Narendra Modi bowing with folded hands to Mukesh Ambani’s wife Nita Ambani.
Fact:  The photo shared in the post is a morphed one. The original photo shows PM Narendra Modi greeting the ‘Divya Jyoti Cultural Organization and Welfare Society’ Chief Functional Officer Deepika Mondol, not Nita Ambani. This photo was reportedly shot during an event in April 2015. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search, a similar photo was found in an article published by the ‘Divya Marathi’ news website. In the original photo, PM Narendra Modi was not bowing down to Mukesh Ambani’s wife Nita Ambani. This article reported it as the visuals of PM Narendra Modi greeting a Delhi-based NGO worker, Deepika Mondol. This photo reportedly was captured during an event in April 2015. ‘Amar Ujala’ news website reported the same in an article published on 12 April 2018.
During an interview, Deepika Mondol revealed the reason for PM Narendra Modi’s special gesture towards her. Deepika Mondol clarified it as the kind gesture of PM Narendra Modi after knowing her as a prominent social worker. Deepika Mondol, the Chief Functional Officer of ‘Divya Jyoti Cultural Organization and Welfare Society’, works on promoting Indian culture, education, information & technology, and tribal welfare.
Earlier, FACTLY had debunked the same image when it was shared as visuals of PM Narendra Modi bowing to Gautam Adani’s wife Priti Adani,
To sum it up, a morphed image of PM Narendra Modi greeting an NGO worker is shared as him bowing down to Mukesh Ambani’s wife Nita Ambani.


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Morphed image shared as TIME magazine front cover featuring Vladimir Putin with Hitler moustache - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 1, 2022
Amidst the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis, a photo through a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that TIME magazine had featured Vladimir Putin with ‘Hitler moustache’ in its latest issue. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of the latest issue of TIME magazine featuring Vladimir Putin with Hitler moustache.
Fact: The photo is an artwork created by Patrick Mulder, a graphic designer. Though the latest TIME magazine cover has the same headline and subheading, it features military personnel with a Tank but not Vladimir Putin with Hitler moustache. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched for the latest front cover of TIME Magazine, a photo was found in the official Twitter handle of TIME magazine. Though the cover has the same headline and subheading, it features military personnel with a Tank but not Vladimir Putin with a Hitler moustache.
TIME’s new cover: How Putin shattered Europe’s dreams https://t.co/jXsRFKrW8B pic.twitter.com/hDJs0ptJs0
A simple Google Search on ‘TIME magazine covers’, took us to the Vault, the TIME Magazine’s online archive where all the covers published by the magazine are stored. When one looks for the TIME magazine covers for the year 2022, none of them featured the cover of Vladimir Putin with a Hitler moustache.
A Twitter user named Patrick Mulder confirmed that he created the artwork of Vladimir Putin with a Hitler moustache, on the same day Russia invaded Ukraine. Patrick Mulder, according to his bio, is a graphic designer who says that he originally did not intend the artwork to be a TIME cover.
My TIME artwork has gone viral – so I thought it would be appropriate for me to write a little about it. The image is one out of a sequence of three I created on the day Russia invaded Ukraine. I felt the official cover by TIME was uninspired and lacked conviction. pic.twitter.com/m5P5rorqgt
To sum it up, a digitally created image is shared as TIME magazine front cover featuring Vladimir Putin with a Hitler moustache.


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Morphed images are shared as Opinion Polls predicting Shiromani Akali Dal's victory in the Punjab Elections - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 25, 2022
Screenshots of multiple opinion polls purportedly reported by the ‘Zee News’ and ‘India TV’ channels are being shared on social media claiming that both these opinion polls have predicted the Shiromani Akali Dal’s (SAD)  thumping victory in the Punjab Assembly Elections. These opinion polls have predicted that the SAD will secure a majority of 65-75 seats in the Punjab Elections. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: The ‘Zee News’ and the ‘India TV’ opinion polls predicting the Shiromani Akali Dal’s (SAD) victory in the Punjab Elections.
Fact: The opinion polls images shared in the post are edited ones. Both ‘Zee News’ and ‘India TV’ opinion polls have predicted that Shiromani Akhali Dal will secure 25-32 seats in the 2022 Punjab Assembly Elections. The ‘India TV’ and ‘ZEE News’ Punjab Elections opinion polls predicted a hung assembly with no party crossing a majority mark. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Let’s find the authenticity of these opinion polls one by one.
‘Zee News’ opinion poll:
On reverse image search of the screenshot shared in the post, we could not find any reliable information related to this photo shared in the post. When we searched for the ‘Zee News’ Punjab Assembly Election Final Opinion poll using relevant keywords, we found the opinion poll on their YouTube channel. This video was published on 05 February 2022. But the original ‘Zee News’ opinion poll had predicted Shiromani Akali Dal winning 25 to 28 seats in the Punjab Assembly Elections. The ‘ZEE News’ opinion poll had predicted a hung Assembly with no party crossing a majority mark in the Punjab Elections.
On observing the ‘ZEE News’ opinion poll video carefully, it can be understood that the image shared in the post was created by editing a template displayed to show the possibilities of coalitions to form the government in Punjab. Several other news websites like ‘India TV’ and ‘DNA’ have published articles reporting the ‘Zee News’ final opinion poll predictions on the 2022 Punjab Assembly Elections. They can be seen here and here.
‘India TV’ opinion poll:
When searched for the ‘India TV’ opinion poll for the 2022 Punjab Assembly Elections, we found the opinion poll in an article published by ‘India TV’ on 31 January 2022. The ‘India TV’ opinion poll had predicted 50-52 seats for Congress and 30-32 seats for the SAD in the Punjab Assembly Elections.  ‘India TV’ published the same opinion poll image on their Facebook page.
To sum it up, these opinion polls predicting the Shiromani Akali Dal’s win in the Punjab Elections are edited ones.

created: February 25, 2022


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Morphed images falsely shared as visuals of PM Modi, Amit Shah visiting brothels - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 15, 2021
A collage with a couple of photos is being shared on social media claiming it as the visuals of PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah visiting brothels in India. The first photo shows PM Narendra Modi visiting a brothel with four women. The other photo shows Amit Shah entering Kolkata red-light area, Sonagachi. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photos of PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah visiting brothels in India.
Fact: The photos shared in the post are morphed ones. In the original version of the first photo, PM Modi was not present in between the four women. The second photo was shot during Amit Shah’s door-to-door campaign programme at the Bhabanipur constituency in West Bengal. The original photo doesn’t contain any address with the word ‘Sonagachi’. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Photo-1:
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found to be published as the reference image in several news articles. They can be seen here and here. In the original photo, PM Narendra Modi was not present in between the four women seen in the picture. Earlier, the same image was morphed with a photo of Jawaharlal Nehru and was shared on social media. These posts can be seen here and here.
Photo-2:
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found in Amit Shah’s recent tweet on 09 April 2021. In the tweet, Amit Shah mentioned it as the visuals from Bhabanipur door-to-door campaign in West Bengal. In the wake of the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021, Amit Shah took part in the door-to-door campaign at the Bhabanipur assembly constituency. The original photo doesn’t contain any address with the word ‘Sonagachi’.
Few more from Bhabanipur’s door to door campaign. #BJP200PlusInBengal pic.twitter.com/wuuKmeaZyz
To sum it up, morphed images are falsely being shared as visuals of PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah visiting brothels in India.


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Morphed news report shared as Pakistan pilot caught pissing in the cockpit of PAF F-16 jet - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 5, 2021
A screenshot of a news article purportedly published in the Pakistani daily  ‘Dawn’ is being shared on social media claiming that a Pakistan Pilot was caught pissing in the cockpit of PAF F-16 fighter jet. The headline of this news report claims that Pilot had done this act following Allah’s advise in his dream. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: ‘DAWN’ news article about a Pakistan Pilot pissing in the cockpit of PAF F-16 fighter jet.
Fact:  The news article shared in the post is a photoshopped one. No such report about a Pakistan Pilot pissing in F-16 fighter jet is published on Pakistani news websites. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched for this news report using the keywords and time filters in Google, it is found that the Pakistan based ‘DAWN’ news did not report any such incident in their newspaper published on ‘10 June 2020’. Misspelt words like ‘efficiancy’ instead of ‘efficiency’ and the usage of randomly capitalized words in the headline indicate that the news report shared in the post could have been a morphed one.
On comparing the news report shared in the post with the regular news report published in ‘DAWN’ newspaper, we could find a few differences between them. The regular header below the ‘DAWN’ Logo in the news report is missing in the one shared in the post. A full stop was used at the ending of this news report headline which is not found in the regular format. Also, there is no byline between the headline and the details of the article shared in the post which is present in the regular news reports published on ‘DAWN’ news.
On ‘10 June 2020’, ‘DAWN’ news website published an article about misusing their news website to spread false news on social media. In the article, they shared a similar morphed image of another fake news report claimed to be published on their website. From all these pieces of evidence, it is concluded that the screenshot of a news report shared in the article is a photoshopped one.
To sum it up, a morphed news report is being shared as Pakistan Pilot caught pissing inside F-16 fighter jet on the advice of Allah.

created: January 5, 2021


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Morphed photo falsely shared as Congress rebel leader Sachin Pilot joining BJP - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 16, 2020
A photo of Congress rebel leader Sachin Pilot along with BJP Party president JP Nadda is being shared on social media with a claim that Sachin Pilot resigned from Congress and has joined BJP. Sachin Pilot, a well-known Congress leader who was the Deputy CM of the Rajasthan has now openly revolted against his own party. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Photo of Congress rebel leader Sachin Pilot joining BJP.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is an edited one. It is true that Rajasthan Congress Leader Sachin Pilot rebelled against his own party. But he told media that he is not going to join the BJP. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search, it is found that the photo is an edited version of Jyotiraditya Scindia’s photo of joining BJP. The original photo was captured when Scindia joined the BJP in the presence of JP Nadda in March 2020. This is photoshopped with Sachin Pilot’s face.
Sachin Pilot, a Congress leader who worked as the Deputy CM of Rajasthan, openly revolted against his own party. Due to his actions, Congress sacked Sachin Pilot from the post of Deputy CM, as well as from the State Party President post. There is no official statement from Sachin Pilot about leaving the Congress Party as of now. But, he informed media that he has no plans of joining the BJP.
To sum it up, morphed photo of Jyotiraditya Scindia is being falsely shared as Sachin Pilot joining the BJP.
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Morphed photo falsely shared as Rahul Gandhi watching obscene pictures of a woman in his phone - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 24, 2020
A photo of Rahul Gandhi looking at obscene pictures of a woman on his mobile phone is being shared on social media wondering if such a person is eligible to become the PM. Let’s verify if the imaged shared in the post is real or not.
Photo of Rahul Gandhi looking at obscene pictures of a woman on his mobile phone.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is an edited one. This photo was shot during the time of demonetization when Rahul Gandhi visited an SBI bank for exchanging his old currency notes. In the original photo, Rahul Gandhi was seen holding old 1000 rupee notes in his hand. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, the original photo was found in ‘Getty Images’ website. It is mentioned that this photo was shot when Rahul Gandhi visited a bank in Delhi to exchange his old currency notes during the time of demonetization. In the original photo, Rahul Gandhi is seen holding old 1000 rupee notes in his hand. Currency notes in the hand of Rahul Gandhi are morphed with a mobile phone showing obscene pictures of a woman in Bikini.
On ‘8 November 2016’, the Narendra Modi Government announced demonetization of 500 and 1000 rupee currency notes in the country. To exchange his demonetized currency notes with the new ones, Rahul Gandhi visited State Bank of India (SBI) parliament street branch in New Delhi on ‘11 November 2016’. Articles and video footage about this incident could be seen here, here and here.
To sum it up, morphed photo of Rahul Gandhi exchanging demonetized notes is falsely shared as him looking at obscene pictures of a woman on his mobile phone.
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Morphed photo from 2010 shared as Lal Chowk in Kashmir on 74th Independence day - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 16, 2020
A post comparing the image of Lal Chowk on which the Indian Tricolour is unfurled with that of Lal Chowk on which a green flag is unfurled is doing rounds on social media with the claim that the image with Indian Tricolour is of 74 Independence Day. Through this article let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Image showing Indian Tricolour hoisted at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk on the occasion of the 74 Independence Day.
Fact: This is a doctored image. Two separate images of Lal Chowk, Srinagar and Indian flag are digitally edited so as to look like Indian Tricolour is unfurled at Lal Chowk. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we ran a reverse image search of the photo in the claim, we found the same photo in a blog which was published back in 2010, but in the blog, only the image of the clock tower is seen without the Indian flag. Even after 2010, the same images of clock tower without the Indian flag were published by a few news organizations which can be seen here and here. Also, we found no news reports regarding the hoisting of Indian flag on the clock tower in Lal Chowk on the occasion of the 74 Independence Day.
Also, on cropping the image and subjecting only the image of Indian flag to reverse image search we found that same image in a website called pixabay. The GIF below explains the process of digitally placing the image of the flag from pixabay onto an old image of the clock tower.
The other part of the image in the post where we can see a green flag on the clock tower is of a true incident which happened in 2010. More information regarding the incident can be read here. And few more images of the incident can be seen here and here.
To sum it up, image claiming to be that of the Indian flag which is hoisted at Lal Chowk, Srinagar on the occasion of the 74 Independence Day is actually a doctored one.
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Morphed photo from Pakistan shared as Modi’s statue at ‘Narendra Modi Chowk’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 4, 2021
An image of a water fountain located at a city square is being shared on social media claiming it as visuals of a chowk named after PM Narendra Modi. The photo shows a giant kettle pouring water on a statue of Narendra Modi. Also, a hoarding of ‘Narendra Modi Chowk’ is visible in the photo. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Fountain of PM Modi displayed at ‘Narendra Modi chowk’ in India.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is an edited one. This fountain with a giant kettle is located at the station chowk in Faisalabad, Pakistan. This fountain image is edited to include the photo of Narendra Modi’s marble statue available on the India Mart website. Also, “Narendra Modi Chowk” hoarding from a town square in Bihar is added to this photo. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search, a similar photo of the water fountain was found in an article published by a Pakistani news website. In the original photo, one can notice a kettle and cup installation. This fountain is located at the station chowk located in Faisalabad city of Pakistan. Reporting the same, another Pakistan news website published an article including the same image.
The water fountain image shared in the post can also be found in Google Maps. The Faisalabad station chowk location can also be seen in Google Earth view. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the fountain shown in the post is from Faisalabad city in Pakistan.
On reverse image search of the cropped Narendra Modi statue in the post, we found the same image of Narendra Modi statue on the e-comMerce website ‘India Mart’. It is mentioned as a 3-foot Marble Narendra Modi statue which is available for purchase at 65,000 rupees.
When we searched for the Narendra Modi Chowk in India using the keywords, a similar image of the ‘Narendra Modi Chowk’ hoarding was found in an article published by NDTV.  This article reported that in 2018, a town square in Bihar Dharbanga district was named after PM Narendra Modi.
To sum it up, an edited photo of a city square in Pakistan is being shared as Modi’s statue at ‘Narendra Modi Chowk’


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Morphed photo is shared as Akshay Kumar promoting an Online Trading App - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 11, 2022
An image is being shared on social media in which Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar can be seen holding a placard and promoting an online trading application. The placard reads – “Deposit 20Rs – Daily income 2000Rs”. Some users trolled Akshay Kumar for this endorsement. Let’s fact-check if he in fact promoted this app.
Claim: Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar holding a placard that reads ,“ Deposit 20Rs – Daily Income 2000Rs” while promoting an online trading app.
Fact: The original photo of Akshay Kumar holding a placard was shared by himself through his Twitter handle on 09 April 2020. Here, the placard reads,”#DilSe ThankYou”. This image was morphed and then edited to portray like an advertisement promoting an online trading app. Also, there is no proof of Akshay Kumar endorsing this app. Hence, the claim made in this post is FALSE.
We ran a reverse image search and found a picture of Akshay Kumar holding a placard which reads, “#DILSE THANKYOU”.  Search results can be seen here.
Upon further investigation, we found that he initially shared this pic on his Twitter handle on 09 April 2020, in order to thank the COVID-19 frontline warriors for their work during first lockdown.
Name : Akshay Kumar
City : Mumbai
Mere aur mere parivaar ki taraf se…
Police, Nagar Nigam ke workers, doctors, nurses, NGOs, volunteers, government officials, vendors, building ke guards ko #DilSeThankYou 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/N8dnb4Na63
The content on the placard is altered and then is presented like an advertisement for an online trading app. Similar morphed image can be seen here.
Also, there is no statement from Akshay Kumar regarding endorsement for any online trading apps.
To sum it up, a morphed photo is being shared as Akshay Kumar promoting an Online Trading App.


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Morphed photo of MS Dhoni is falsely shared as him accepting Islam - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 27, 2022
A photo of former Indian Cricket captain M.S Dhoni wearing a Taqiyah (muslim cap) is being shared widely claiming that “DHONI accepted ISLAM”. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: A photo of MS Dhoni wearing a Muslim cap after accepting Islam.
Fact: This photo is a morphed one. It is created by digitally placing a Muslim cap on his head and erasing Sindoor from his forehead. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Reverse image search of the photo led us to a 2010 article published on NDTV sports website. In this article, a photo of Dhoni along with his wife waving from their balcony can be seen. Reverse image search of this photo led us to a similar picture from different angle.
When both the images are compared, it is evident that the viral image is morphed by placing a taqiyah (Muslim cap) and by erasing Kumkum/Sindoor from his forehead. All the other elements like T-shirt, hand gestures, background wall, shadows etc are same in both images.
Moreover, there are no reports of Dhoni converting to Islam. Had Dhoni accepted Islam, it would have been widely reported.
To sum it up, a morphed photo of MS Dhoni is being falsely shared as him accepting Islam.


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Morphed photo shared as a pro-farmer slogan on Deepika Padukone's t-shirt - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 29, 2020
A photo of Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone is being shared on social media claiming that Deepika thrashed both the BJP Government and Modi backed media by taking a stand in support of farmers. In the photo, Deepika Padukone is seen in a t-shirt with the slogan ‘I STAND WITH INDIAN FARMERS’ on it. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Deepika Padukone in a t-shirt with ‘I STAND WITH INDIAN FARMERS’ slogan written on it.
Fact: The slogan ‘I STAND WITH INDIAN FARMERS’ on Deepika Padukone’s t-shirt is photoshopped. In the original photo, Deepika is seen in just a plain black t-shirt. No slogan in support of farmers is written on it. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search, the original photo was found in an article published by ‘The Indian Express’ news website on ‘20 March 2018’. In the original photo, Deepika Padukone is seen in a plain black t-shirt with nothing written on it. This photo was shot while Deepika Padukone was coming out of the Airport.
The same photo can also be seen in an article published by ‘idiva’ website on ‘17 March 2018’. This photo is an old one and has nothing to do with the ongoing protests of farmers against the three Agriculture Bills passed by the Government of India in Parliament.
To sum it up, Deepika Padukone’s picture in a t-shirt with pro farmers message is photoshopped.

created: September 29, 2020


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Morphed photo shared as Akhilesh Yadav holding a placard in support of Yogi government - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 31, 2022
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as the picture of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav holding a placard in support of the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh. The text on the placard reads, “जो राम को लाए हैं. हम उनको लाएंगे” (when translated to English it reads, “The man who brought Ram, we will bring him”). In the wake of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections in 2022, this photo is going viral on social media. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav holding a placard in support of the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttarpradesh.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is a morphed one. The original picture shows Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav holding a placard with the Hindi text, “नौकरी-रोज़गार संकल्प श्रृंखला; प्रथम संकल्प: IT सेक्टर” (when translated to English it reads: Job-Employment Resolution Series; First Preference: IT Sector). On 22 January 2022, Akhilesh Yadav made an election promise that he will provide employment for 22 lakh youths in the IT sector if his party comes to power in the upcoming 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the same photo was shared by a user on Twitter, journalist Ranvijay Singh tweeted the original picture and clarified that the viral photo circulating on social media is an edited one. The text in the original placard shows, “नौकरी-रोज़गार संकल्प श्रृंखला; प्रथम संकल्प: IT सेक्टर” (when translated to English it reads: Job-Employment Resolution Series; First Preference: IT Sector).
When we searched for more sources, we found the original picture on the Samajwadi Party official Facebook page. On 22 January 2022, Akhilesh Yadav made an election promise that he will provide employment for 22 lakh youth in the IT sector if his party comes to power in the upcoming 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Highlighting Akhilesh Yadav’s election promise, Samajwadi Party shared these pictures on their Facebook page. Samajwadi Party had shared the original picture on their official Twitter handle also.
समाजवादी पार्टी के राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष एवं पूर्व मुख्यमंत्री श्री अखिलेश यादव ने घोषणा की है कि 2022 के विधानसभा चुनाव में समाजवादी पार्टी की सरकार बनने पर ‘नौकरी-रोजगार संकल्प श्रृंखला‘ में आईटी सेक्टर में 22 लाख नौजवानों को नौकरी दी जाएगी। https://t.co/yCqLEA4rFG pic.twitter.com/pI8aahCkkT
Akhilesh Yadav had also tweeted about his election promise of employing 22 lakh youth of the state in the IT sector. Sharing the original picture, several news websites have published articles and videos. They can be seen here, here, and here. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the photo shared in the post is a morphed one.
To sum it up, a morphed photo is being shared as Akhilesh Yadav holding a placard in support of the Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh.

created: January 31, 2022


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Morphed photo shared as Asaduddin Owaisi meeting RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 23, 2021
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as a recent picture of AIMIM party President Asaduddin Owaisi meeting RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat at an event. This picture shows Asaduddin Owaisi sitting beside Mohan Bhagwat. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of AIMIM party President Asaduddin Owaisi sitting alongside RSS President Mohan Bhagwat.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is a morphed one. The original picture shows Mohan Bhagwat sitting beside Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, not AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi. This photo was taken when Mohan Bhagwat and Mulayam Singh Yadav attended an event hosted in the official residence of Vice President of India,  Venkaiah Naidu. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found in an article published by ‘The Times of India’ news website on 22 December 2021. The original picture shared in the article shows RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat sitting beside Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, not AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi. The description of the photo states, “Union MoS for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal greets RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat as MP Mulayam Singh Yadav looks on, during Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu’s granddaughter’s Reception in New Delhi”.
Reporting the same, several news websites have shared the original picture in their articles. They can be seen here, here, and here. Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal too had shared this photo on his official Twitter handle.
राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ के परम पूज्य सरसंघचालक मा. @DrMohanBhagwat जी से आज जन्मदिवस के अवसर पर आत्मीय भेंट करके आशीर्वाद लिया।आपका स्नेह, सहयोग, मार्गदर्शन, सदैव कर्तव्य पथ पर चलते हुए माँ भारती की निरंतर सेवा करने की प्रेरणा देता है। pic.twitter.com/Df01oETcKM
This photo was captured on 20 December 2021, when Mohan Bhagwat and Mulayam Singh Yadav were having a chat during an event hosted in the official residence of Vice President of India, Venkaiah Naidu.
To sum it up, a morphed picture is falsely shared as recent visuals of AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi meeting the RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat.

created: December 23, 2021


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Morphed photo shared as Babasaheb Ambedkar and his wife's picture on a bus in America - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 21, 2020
A photo is being circulated on social media with a claim that the photo of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar with his wife is displayed on a bus in the US. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Photo of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar with his wife displayed on a bus in the US.
Fact: Image shared in the post is a photoshopped one. On the original image of ‘Hop on Hop off’ city tour bus operating in the Bath city of England, no photo of Dr Ambedkar and his wife is displayed. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On the reverse image search, the original photo of the bus was found in ‘Wikimedia Commons’ website. In the website, it is mentioned as a tour bus operated by City Sightseeing service operator in Bath city, England. In the original photo of ‘Hop on Hop off’ city tour bus, no photo of Dr. Ambedkar or his wife is displayed on the bus. A similar photo of this tour bus operating in Bath city found in ‘Alamy’ website. In this image also, there is no photo of Dr Ambedkar with his wife on the bus.
On searching for the photo displayed on the bus, similar photo of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and his wife is found in an article published by ‘Forward Press’ website.
To sum it up, a photoshopped image of a tour bus in England is falsely shared as the bus displaying the photo of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar & his wife in the US.

created: September 21, 2020


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Morphed photo shared as Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's poster displayed on longest US train - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 24, 2023
A photo is being shared on social media claiming that the US put up Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s poster on its longest train. This post claims that the US government had expressed their respect for Ambedkar by putting his poster in front of the US train. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of a US train with Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s poster on it.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is a morphed one. The original photo shows a Delhi metro train with no Ambedkar poster. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found in an article published by the ‘Metro Rail News’ website. This article published the image as a  representative picture of the Delhi Metro rail. The original photo of the Delhi metro rail does not show Ambedkar’s poster placed on it.
Several other news websites have also published the original image of the Delhi metro rail by crediting the photo to PTI. They can be seen here, here and here. On comparing the original image with the one shared in the post, it can be confirmed that the photo shared in the post is a morphed one. The Times of India also published an article reporting the viral photo circulating on social media as fake.
To sum it up, a morphed photo is being shared as Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s poster displayed on longest US train.


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Morphed photo shared as German photographer's capture sun and moon between two trees using 16 cameras - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 7, 2020
A photo of the sun and the moon between two trees is being shared on social media with a claim that it was taken by a German photographer by fixing 16 cameras and waiting for 62 days to get the shot. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: A German photographer took this photo of the sun and the moon between two trees by fixing 16 cameras and waiting for 62 days.
Fact: It is an edited photo. The sun and the moon in the photo were inserted using editing software. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the photo was run through Google Reverse Image Search, the same photo was found on an art website. On that website, the photo was credited to ‘Photographer – Bess Hamiti’. On the Flickr profile of Bess Hamiti, the same photo can be seen. In the EXIF data of the photo, it can be observed – ‘Creator Tool – Adobe Photoshop CS5 Windows’. ‘Adobe Photoshop’ is a photo-editing software.
Also, on his YouTube profile, Bess Hamiti has posted a video, in 2012, showing how he created the above photo using the ‘Adobe Photoshop’ software.
To sum it up, the photo of the sun and the moon between two trees is an edited one. It was not shot by a German photographer by fixing 16 cameras and waiting for 62 days.

created: December 7, 2020


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Morphed photo shared as health worker making an obscene gesture at PM Modi - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 25, 2021
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as visuals of a woman health worker making an obscene gesture at PM Narendra Modi. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Image of a woman health worker making an obscene gesture at PM Modi.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is a morphed one. The original photo does not show this woman worker making an obscene gesture with her middle finger at PM Narendra Modi. This photo was shot when Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a thumbs up to healthcare workers at Delhi’s RML Hospital as India crossed administering one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found in a tweet made by the ‘ANI’ on 21 October 2021. ‘ANI’ reported it as the visuals of PM Narendra Modi giving thumbs up to the health workers at Delhi’s RML hospital on the occasion of India crossing the administration of one billion (100 crores) COVID-19 vaccine doses. But the original photo did show this woman health worker making an obscene ‘middle finger’ gesture at PM Modi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi gives a thumbs up to healthcare workers at Delhi's RML Hospital today morning as India crosses one billion COVID19 vaccinations pic.twitter.com/3HzhY6oNfX
Sharing the same original photo, a few other news websites published articles about PM Narendra Modi celebrating one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses success with Delhi’s RML hospital health workers. They can be seen here and here.
To sum it up, a morphed photo is being shared as a woman health worker making an obscene gesture at PM Narendra Modi.

created: October 25, 2021


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Morphed photo shared as Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma touching PM Narendra Modi’s feet - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 23, 2023
A viral photo is being shared on social media claiming that during the Men’s Cricket World Cup final in 2023, Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma bowed to and touched the feet of PM Narendra Modi. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: Photo of Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma touching PM Narendra Modi’s feet during the Cricket World Cup 2023 final.
Fact: This photo is manipulated. It was taken when PM Modi was walking towards the podium to present the winners’ trophy to the Australian Cricket team. Rohit Sharma was not present in the frame, and the viral image is morphed. Hence, the claim made in the post is Flase.
To verify the authenticity of the photo, we watched the footage of the final match between India and Australia on Disney+Hotstar. Contrary to the claim, the viral photo was captured when PM Modi was walking towards the podium to present the trophy to the Australian team, not when Rohit Sharma purportedly touched his feet.
In fact, Sharma was not even in the frame as PM Modi walked towards the presentation stage.
This makes it clear that the viral photo was morphed. The disparity between the viral photo and the actual events is evident when comparing the images.
Additionally, PM Modi did visit the Indian players’ dressing room after the match to console them, and this moment was captured in footage available on the official YouTube channel of PM Modi.
To sum up, the viral photo alleging Rohit Sharma’s gesture towards PM Modi during the Cricket World Cup 2023 is morphed.

created: November 23, 2023


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Morphed photo shared as Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray watching ‘Republic TV’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 12, 2020
A photo of Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray watching ‘Republic TV’ news channel is being circulated on social media claiming that CM Uddhav Thackeray is also one of the recruited members to increase the TRP of ‘Republic TV’ news channel. Amidst the TRP scam allegations on ‘Republic TV’ channel and their CEO, this sarcastic post is going viral on social media. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray watching ‘Republic TV’ news channel.
Fact: Photo shared in the post is the morphed version of the original photo that shows Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray interacting with the PM Narendra Modi via video conference on COVID-19 preparedness during the lockdown period. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, the original photo was found in the news gallery article published on ‘Outlook India’ website. In this photo, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray is seen interacting with PM Narendra Modi via video conference. The description of the photo mentions that it was captured when CM Uddhav Thackeray interacted with PM Narendra Modi on COVID-19 preparedness during the Nationwide lockdown.
Sharing the original photo, the official twitter handle of  Chief Minister Office of Maharashtra posted a tweet on ‘27 April 2020’. This tweet also mentions that the photo was captured during an ongoing video conference of PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah with other states Chief Ministers. The same photo can be seen in a tweet posted by ‘Mumbai Mirror’ on ‘27 April 2020’.
In the photo shared in the post, “Can’tBlockRepublic” hashtag can be seen on ‘Republic TV’ screen. On searching for this bulletin using these keywords, a clip of the show telecast with this hashtag “Can’tBlockRepublic” on ‘Republic TV’ was found in the official ‘Republic TV’ YouTube channel. This video was posted on ‘11 September 2020’ on YouTube. ‘Republic TV’ news channel shared this video on their official twitter handle.
This screenshot of ‘Republic TV’ is inserted into the photo captured during the video conference of Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray with PM Narendra Modi, and is being shared with a misleading narrative.
To sum it up, this photo of Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray watching ‘Republic TV’ news channel is a morphed one.

created: October 12, 2020


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Morphed photo shared as Modi feasting while people are starving - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 13, 2020
A photo of Modi having a feast was juxtaposed with a photo of a woman and child, and is being shared on social media to give the impression that, while people are starving in the country, the prime minister is having a feast. Let’s try to analyze the extent of truth in this post.
Prime minister Narendra Modi having feast while others starve.
Fact: A photo of Narendra Modi having food at an annual Diwali lunch party organized by him for journalists in 2008 is photoshopped and used in the post.  This lunch was organized in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on 12 November 2008, when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the photo of Modi having a feast was searched on Google using reverse image technique, an original photo related to it was found on ‘Timescontent.com‘. Based on that information, it is understood that the photo was captured during the annual Diwali lunch party for journalists organised by Modi on 12 November 2008 in Gandhinagar when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. But, someone photoshopped the image related to it as Modi was having a feast.
On reverse searching the portion of the photo with food, it is found that the dishes represent a Lebanese Mezze and is prepared by LebaneseChef Mohammad Farran. The image was posted by ‘We Are Lebanon’ group on their Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest accounts.
When the image of the woman with a child is reverse searched, it is found that the image is from Somalia and represents a mother holding her starving child and is captured on 01 August 1992.
To summarize, a morphed photo is shared as Modi feasting while people in the country are starving.
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Morphed Photo shared as Narendra Modi Holding Population Control Bill 2021 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 8, 2021
A photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding a file is being shared on social media claiming that Government of India is now planning for a new Population control legislation in 2021. In the photo, we can see ‘जनसंख्या नियंत्रण कानून 2021’ written on the file held by PM Modi. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of PM Narendra Modi holding the new population control legislation file.
Fact: Photo shared in the post is an edited one. In the original image, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seen holding a file without any text on the cover. This original photo is shared by the official social media pages of Narendra Modi. There is no authentic information to confirm the speculation of a new population control legislation in 2021. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, we found the original image on the official social media handles of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the original photo, Prime Minister was seen holding a green file with no text the cover page. PM Modi shared this photo on his Facebook and Instagram pages on ‘26 December 2020’. In the description of the photo, PM Modi mentioned it as the picture of him while leaving for a programme to meet the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
A post shared by Narendra Modi (@narendramodi)
On 26 December 2020, Narendra Modi launched Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY Sehat scheme in Jammu and Kashmir through video conference. Media reports about this programme can be seen here and here. ‘Zee News’ and ‘Jansatta’ news websites shared the original photo in their articles published on 01 January 2020. They can be seen here and here.
Few news websites published articles speculating about a population control legislation when few BJP MPs demanded the same in 2020. They can be read here and here. But, there is no authentic information to confirm this speculation of a new population control legislation.
To sum it up, a morphed image is falsely shared as of PM Modi holding a copy of the new population control legislation 2021.

created: January 8, 2021


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Morphed photo shared as Nita Ambani drinking the world’s most expensive water - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 19, 2021
A photo through a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that Nita Ambani drinks the world’s most expensive water that costs 40 lakh rupees per bottle. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of Nita Ambani drinking the world’s most expensive water.
Fact: The photo is morphed from an image taken during an IPL match in 2015 when Nita Ambani was drinking water from a normal bottled water. According to the Guinness World Records, ‘Tributo Modigliani, Acqua di Cristallo’ is the most expensive water bottle. It was sold at an auction for $60,000 in 2010. According to company’s website, the bottle is a limited edition with only one bottle worldwide. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When reverse image search is done on the photo, a similar image was found on a website. According to the website, the picture was taken during Indian Premier League Season 8 in 2015. Though Nita Ambani could be seen drinking water from a bottle, there is no mention of her drinking the most expensive water.
When the image from the website is compared with the photo, one can see that the photo was morphed to include another bottle of water. In both the photos, a watch, red thread on one hand, and a blue band on the other can be seen.
According to the Guinness World Records website, ‘Tributo Modigliani, Acqua di Cristallo’ is the most expensive water bottle. It was sold at an auction for $60,000. “The glass bottle is covered in 24-karat gold and is based on artwork by the late Italian artist Amedeo Clemente Modigliani”. According to the company’s website, the water is a blend of natural spring water from Fiji and France and contains actual glacier water from Iceland; also has 5mg of sprinkled 23-karat gold dust. “Limited edition, only 1 bottle worldwide.”
To sum it up, this photo shared as Nita Ambani drinking the world’s most expensive water has been morphed.

created: November 19, 2021


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Morphed photo shared as opinion poll predicting Samajwadi party win in upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 3, 2022
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as a news channel’s opinion poll predicting 350-390 seats to the Samajwadi party in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections 2022. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: News channel opinion poll survey predicting 350-390 seats to the Samajwadi Party in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Elections 2022.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is an edited one. The original opinion poll survey published by ‘India TV’ news channel had predicted 148-150 seats for Samajwadi Party in the upcoming elections. The ‘India TV’ opinion poll survey predicted that BJP will secure a majority of 242-244 seats in the Uttar Pradesh Elections. Recently, FACTLY debunked similar edited photos of Uttar Pradesh opinion polls attributed to different news channels. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo, we could not find any reliable information in the search results. When we searched for the photo with relevant keywords on Facebook, we found a similar opinion poll image on the ‘India TV’ news channel’s official Facebook page. The original opinion poll picture published by the India TV news channel had predicted 148-150 seats for the Samajwadi Party and a majority of 242-244 seats for BJP in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections 2022. ‘India TV’ published the same photo also on their official Twitter handle.
#OpinionPollOnIndiaTV | उत्तर प्रदेश में सीटों का बंटवारा
बीजेपी- 242-244
सपा- 148-150
बीएसपी- 4-6
कांग्रेस- 3-5
अन्य- 1-3#IndiaTVOpinionPoll #OpinionPoll #UPElections2022 pic.twitter.com/IeTJtPbdYa
On 31 Jan 2022, ‘India TV’ published the complete video of their Uttar Pradesh opinion poll 2022 on YouTube. On comparing the ‘India TV’ opinion poll template with the photo shared in the post, we could clearly observe that the photo shared in the post is an edited version of the opinion poll published by ‘India TV’.
Akhilesh Yadav during multiple public rallies and media interactions asserted that his party will win more than 350 seats and form the government after the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections.  But as of now, no news channel had predicted 350 seats to the Samajwadi Party in the upcoming Elections. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the opinion poll photo shared in the post is an edited one.
Earlier, when similar edited versions of Uttar Pradesh opinion polls went viral on social media, FACTLY published fact-check articles debunking those claims. They can be seen here and here.
To sum it up, a morphed photo is shared as an opinion poll predicting 350-390 seats to the Samajwadi Party in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Elections 2022.

created: February 3, 2022


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Morphed photo shared as picture of a girl holding a placard urging for boycott of Bollywood - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 6, 2022
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as picture of a girl holding a placard urging people to boycott Bollywood films. Accusing Bollywood films of promoting Islam, the placard states, “Bollywood in India is not a place for entertainment but, for the promotion of Islam and Urdu. That’s why Islam is projected as a great religion in every movie, and you repeatedly get to hear the Islam words Ali, Maula, Khuda in every song. boycott Bollywood” (when translated from Hindi to English). Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of a girl holding a placard urging people to boycott Bollywood films.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is a morphed one. The placard in the original photo states, “DON’T TELL ME HOW TO DRESS! TELL THEM NOT TO RAPE!!”. Following the Delhi Bus Gang rape incident on 16 December 2012, a protestor from Punjab’s Amritsar displayed this placard demanding justice for the 23-year-old victim. The photo has nothing to do with Bollywood. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the photo, a similar photo was found on the ‘Getty Images’ website published on 20 December 2012. But the text in the original placard states, “DON’T TELL ME HOW TO DRESS! TELL THEM NOT TO RAPE!!”. The description of the photo published on the Getty Images website states, “Indian students holds placards as they shout-slogans against a recent rape that took place in New Delhi during a protest in Amritsar on December 20, 2012. Despite an outpouring of anger at a student’s gang-rape, observers say misogyny remains widespread in India where sex assaults are often dismissed as “teasing” and victims find themselves blamed for attacks. The December 16 assault on a bus in New Delhi, which left a 23-year-old victim fighting for her life, has triggered nationwide revulsion and protests.”
Following the Delhi Bus Gang rape (Nirbhaya case) incident on 16 December 2012, a protestor from Punjab’s Amritsar displayed this placard expressing anguish over the incident. Several news websites published the same photo with a similar description in December 2012. They can be seen here and here. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the photo shared in the post is morphed.
To sum it up, a morphed picture is being shared as picture of a girl holding a placard urging people to boycott Bollywood films.

created: September 6, 2022


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Morphed photo shared as picture of Rahul Gandhi getting his ear cleaned - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 18, 2022
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as the picture of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi getting his ear cleaned. Sharing the photo, this post satirically asks Rahul Gandhi why he is cleaning his ears when the worm or insect was present in some other part in his body. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Picture of Rahul Gandhi getting his ear cleaned.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is a morphed one. The original photo does not show Rahul Gandhi in it. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found in an article published by ‘The Statesman’ news website on 27 September 2021. But the original photo published in this article does not show Rahul Gandhi. Discussing the problems faced by the traditional ear-cleaning professionals because of the prolonged COVID-induced lockdowns, this article published this image as a representative picture. This article credited the photo to the ‘so.city’ website.
We found the same image in an article published by the ‘so.city’ website on 13 March 2016. This article published a series of images representing ‘desi Jugaad’ in India. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the photo shared in the post is a morphed one.
To sum it up, a morphed photo is being shared as the picture of Rahul Gandhi getting his cleaned.


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Morphed photo shared as picture of 'Ramdev Beef Biryani' recipe mix sold by Patanjali Ayurvedic Limited - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 21, 2022
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it is a picture of beef biryani recipe mix product sold to Muslims by the Patanjali Ayurvedic Limited co-founder and yoga guru, Ramdev Baba. The photo shows a beef biryani recipe mix package with Ramdev and Patanjali logos on it. Let’s verify the claim made by the post.
Claim: Photo of Ramdev Beef Biryani Recipe mix product sold by Patanjali Ayurvedic Limited.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is a morphed one. The original photo shows the beef biryani recipe mix product of National Foods Limited, a Pakistan-based multinational food products company. Patanjali Ayurvedic Limited does not sell any beef biryani recipe on their online e-commerce website. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched to check whether Patanjali Ayurvedic Limited was selling any such beef biryani recipe mix on Patanjali’s official e-commerce website, we could not find any such product on their website. If Patanjali had started selling any such beef product, several news websites would have reported that information.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo showing the same beef recipe product was found on the e-commerce website of National Foods Limited, a Pakistan-based multinational food products company. National Foods Limited described it as a 39 grams Beef Biryani recipe mix product manufactured by the National Foods Limited company. A description below the product states, “National Beef Biryani Recipe Mix is combination for spicy rice with cooked beef, specially made by a panel of experts, using aromatic spices and the finest ingredients in exactly the right measure. It will enable you to cook meal with ease”. ‘
On observing the original picture carefully, it can be concluded that the logos of Ramdev and Patanjali were digitally added to the original photo of National Foods Limited’s beef product in place of the ‘National’ logo. A few other recipe products sold by the National Foods Limited can be seen here, here and here.
To sum it up, a morphed photo is being shared as a picture of Ramdev Beef Biryani recipe mix product sold by Patanjali Ayurvedic Limited.

created: September 21, 2022


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Morphed photo shared as picture of Subhash Chandra Bose reading the news of his death - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 27, 2021
An image is being shared on social media claiming it as an old picture of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose reading the news article reporting his death in a plane accident. This post claims that the photo was shot on 23 April 1945. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose reading the news of his death in a plane.
Fact: The image shared in the post is an edited one. In the original photo, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was not seen reading the news of his death in a plane crash. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found tweeted by the “Conundrum: Subhas Bose’s Life after Death” author, Anuj Dhar on 27 May 2018. But in the original photo, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was not seen reading the news of his death in a plane crash. Anuj Dhar shared this photo by mentioning it as the visuals of Subhash Chandra Bose reading Japan’s oldest English-language newspaper, Nippon Times (now the Japan Times). On observing carefully, we could see the ‘Nippon Times’ name on the newspaper in the image.
Subhas Chandra Bose reading Nippon Times (now The Japan Times), Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper @japantimes pic.twitter.com/6A7YMXGEkW
The image shared in the post shows Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose reading a news article titled, “Mr. Subhash Chandra Bose Dead”. The Kolkata-based ‘Hindustan Standard’ newspaper had published this news article in August 1945. Anuj Dhar tweeted this edited version of the image on 18 August 2019 and clarified it as a reimagination picture by @BiplabC2. @BiplabC2 handle is currently suspended from Twitter.
To sum up, a morphed photo is being shared as an old image of Subhash Chandra Bose reading the news of his death.

created: September 27, 2021


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Morphed photo shared as pop singer Rihanna posing with the Pakistan National flag - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 4, 2021
A photo of the pop singer Rihanna purportedly posing with the Pakistan National flag is being shared on social media. In the wake of Rihanna’s recent tweet supporting the farmers’ protest against the new farm laws, this photo is going viral on social media. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of the pop singer Rihanna posing with Pakistan National flag.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is an edited one. In the original photo, Rihanna has seen posing with the West Indies National flag. This photo was shot while Rihanna was cheering for the West Indies cricket team at an ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 match in England. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, the original photo is found in an article published by ‘SAMAA’ sports channel on 02 July 2019. In the original photo, Pop Singer Rihanna was seen posing with the West Indies National flag. It is reported that singer Rihanna attended an ICC World Cup 2019 fixture to cheer the West Indies Cricket team. Rihanna attended the West Indies vs Sri Lanka match held at Chester-Le-Street in England on 01 July 2019. The original photo of Rihanna posing with the West Indian flag is also shared in the New Indian Express website gallery article published on 02 July 2019.
The ICC also posted this photo on their official Twitter handle. West Indies cricket board also shared pictures of Rihanna cheering the West Indies cricket team from the stands. News articles and videos published on Rihanna’s visit to the World Cup match in England can be seen here and here. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the photo shared in the post is an edited one.
Look who's at #SLvWI to Rally 'round the West Indies!
Watch out for @rihanna's new single, Shut Up And Cover Drive 😉🎶 #CWC19 | #MenInMaroon pic.twitter.com/cou1V0P7Zj
To sum it up, an edited photo of Rihanna posing with the Pakistan National flag is being shared in the wake of her tweet about farmers’ protests.

created: February 4, 2021


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Morphed photo shared as Rahul Gandhi consuming alcohol and non-veg food during Bharat Jodo Yatra - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 10, 2023
A picture of Rahul Gandhi eating food is being shared on social media. In what seems like a hotel, Rahul Gandhi can be seen picking up food from a place while some non-vegetarian items and a glass filled with a beverage that looks like alcohol lies on the table. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: A photo of Rahul Gandhi consuming alcohol and non-veg food during Bharat Jodo Yatra
Fact: The viral photo is a morphed version of the original photo which does not the alcohol glass. The plate containing non-veg items is actually a plate full of nuts. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
In the comments section below the viral post, a user named Jaat Hariom Singh Sheoran posted a photo which resembles the viral photo except that it does not have non-veg and alcoholic beverage. He claims this as the original photo.
Taking this as a hint, we performed a basic keyword search on Google to learn more about this photo. This search led us to an article published by the ‘TimesNowNews’ titled ‘Nuts, makhanas, seeds: Decoding Rahul Gandhi’s nutritious diet during his 3,500km walk across the country.’ This article about the diet and fitness routine of Rahul Gandhi mentions a photo tweeted by a Journalist named ‘Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.’ Mr Paranjoy met Rahul Gandhi, who is in Haryana participating in his Bharat Jodo Yatra and tweeted a picture of Rahul Gandhi eating food. The photo resembles the one in the viral post.
This photo is morphed and is being shared in a viral post. In the original picture, the glass in front of Mr Gandhi contains a beverage that looks either like tea or coffee. There is no non-veg item on the plate in front of him. Instead, it contains some nuts. You can see the difference between the fake and original photos in the collage below.
To sum up, this photo of Rahul Gandhi having alcohol and non-veg food is morphed.

created: January 10, 2023


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Morphed photo shared as Sonu Sood holding a placard in support of RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 3, 2020
A post is being shared on social media claiming that Bollywood actor Sonu Sood advised the people of Bihar to vote for RJD party and Tejaswi Yadav for the development of Bihar. A photo of Sonu Sood holding the placard in support of RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav is shared in the post. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Sonu Sood holding a placard in support of RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav.
Fact: Photo shared in the post is a morphed one. In the original photo, Sonu Sood was seen holding a painting made by the Jamshedpur artist Arjun Das on Sonu Sood. Sonu Sood did not take any public stance in support of any political party in 2020 Bihar Assembly elections. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, the original photo was found in the official Facebook page of Jamshedpur Mirror news portal. It is mentioned in the post that Jamshedpur artist Arjun Das presented this painting to the Bollywood actor Sonu Sood on ‘19 October 2020’. Portraying Sonu Sood’s helping hand towards the migrant workers during the lockdown, Arjun Das made this painting. Knowing Arjun Das’s works through Twitter, Sonu Sood called Arjun Das to Mumbai and received the painting.
On searching for other sources using these keywords, a tweet of Arjun Das sharing the video of his meeting with Sonu Sood was found on Twitter. In the tweet, he mentioned that Sonu Sood got him to Mumbai to receive the painting made. ‘Viral Bollywood’ YouTube channel also shared this video of Sonu Sood meeting Jamshedpur artist Arjun Das.
सोनू भाई हमें मुम्बई बुलाने और हम जमशेदपुर के कलाकारों को सम्मान देने के लिये बहुत बहुत धन्यवाद । जोहार 🙏🙏💐💐💐💐
Artist Arjun das pic.twitter.com/aRwrsxkzfS
Sonu Sood in his tweet asked people of Bihar to vote in these elections not only through Ballot boxes but also with the brain. He never took a public stance in support of any party in the 2020 Bihar elections.
जिस दिन हमारे बिहारी भाइयों को घर छोड़ कर दूसरे राज्य नहीं जाना पड़ेगा।
जिस दिन दूसरे राज्य के लोग बिहार में काम ढूँढने आएँगे।
उस दिन देश की जीत होगी।
वोट के लिए बटन उँगली से नहीं
दिमाग़ से लगाना 🙏#biharelections
To sum it up, a morphed photo is falsely shared as Sonu Sood supporting RJD leader Tejawi Yadav.

created: November 3, 2020


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Morphed photo shared as the picture of an Indian expressing his love for Babar Azam over Virat Kohli during India vs New Zealand match - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 2, 2023
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it is a picture showing an Indian expressing his love for Pakistan cricketer Babar Azam over Virat Kohli by holding a placard that has the text, “SORRY VIRAT SIR BUT BABAR AZAM IS GOD OF CRICKET FOR ME…#7”.  This post claims that the photo was taken during India vs New Zealand match held recently in India. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo showing Indian expressing his love for Babar Azam over Virat Kohli during recent India vs New Zealand match.
Fact: The image shared in the post is a morphed one. The original photo shows, “SORRY SACHIN SIR BUT M.S. DHONI IS GOD OF CRICKET FOR ME…#7”, text on the placard. The photo was taken during the Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL match on 17 April 2018. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE
A user in the comment section of this Facebook post shared a similar photo published by ‘ESPNcricinfo’ in 2018. The original photo published by the ‘ESPNcricinfo’ shows the man holding a placard with the text, “SORRY SACHIN SIR BUT M.S. DHONI IS GOD OF CRICKET FOR ME…#7”. #7 is the Jersey number of former Indian cricket team Captain MS Dhoni. The image was reportedly taken during the Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL match on 17 April 2018.
Several news websites published articles sharing this photo in 2018. On comparing the viral image with that of the photo shared by ‘ESPNcricinfo’, it can be confirmed that the photo shared in the post is a morphed one.
To sum it up, a morphed photo is shared as the picture of an Indian expressing his love for Babar Azam over Virat Kohli during India vs New Zealand match.

created: February 2, 2023


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Morphed photo shared as visuals of Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann consuming alcohol - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 11, 2022
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it is a recent picture of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann consuming alcohol and having a non-vegetarian meal together. This photo shows both these AAP leaders sitting in front of two disposable glasses filled with alcohol and eating non-vegetarian food served on their plates. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Recent picture of Bhagwant Mann and Arvind Kejriwal  consuming alcohol and having a non-vegetarian meal together.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is a morphed one. The original picture does not show alcohol-filled disposable glasses in front of both these AAP leaders. The picture was shot in November 2021 when AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal along with Bhagwant Mann had dinner at the house of an auto-rickshaw driver in Ludhiana, Punjab. The auto-rickshaw driver’s family did not serve the non-vegetarian items to these leaders. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo of Arvind Kejriwal having a meal along with Bhagwant Mann was found in an article published by the ‘India.com’ news website on 23 November 2021. This article reported it as the picture of Arvind Kejriwal having dinner at the house of an auto-rickshaw driver in Ludhiana, Punjab.
The original picture shared by this article does not show alcohol-filled disposable glasses in front of both these AAP leaders. Also, we could see roti and a curry on the plates served for both Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann. The auto-rickshaw driver’s family did not serve the non-vegetarian items as shown in the photo shared in the post.
On 22 November 2021, AAP’s official Twitter handle published a few pictures of Arvind Kejriwal’s visit to the auto-rickshaw driver’s family in Ludhiana. Several news websites published articles and videos reporting Arvind Kejriwal’s gesture towards an auto-rickshaw driver’s family. They can be seen here and here. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the photo shared in the post is a morphed one.
Punjab के एक Auto Driver के Invitation पर CM @ArvindKejriwal जी उसी की ऑटो में बैठ कर उनके घर खाना खाने पहुँचे! pic.twitter.com/XDcaquwj5s
To sum it up, a morphed photo is being shared as visuals of Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann consuming alcohol.


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Morphed photo shared as visuals of Muslims and Hindus jointly supporting Congress party in Uttar Pradesh - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 19, 2022
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as the picture of Hindus and Muslims jointly supporting the Congress party in Uttar Pradesh. This photo shows two elderly men, a Muslim and a sadhu, holding the Congress party poster. Recently, several prominent Congress social media handles have shared this photo.  Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Picture of two elderly men, a Muslim and a Hindu Sadhu, holding a Congress party poster in Uttar Pradesh.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is a morphed one. The original picture shows both these people holding West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s poster. This photo was first shared in March 2021, and has nothing to do with the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Elections in 2022. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found tweeted by Trinamool Congress Party Lok Sabha MP Nusrat Jahan Ruhi, on 03 March 2021. But the original picture shared by Nusrat Jahan shows both these elderly men holding a poster of Trinamool Congress Party Chief Mamata Banerjee, not the poster of Congress party. Sharing the photo, Nusrat Jahan tweeted that people across religions, caste groups, and genders are rallying behind Mamata Banerjee owing to her good work as the CM of West Bengal.
Shameless polarisation coming from the party that understands nothing of unity or peace!
FYI, Mr @amitmalviya people across all religions, caste groups, genders are rallying behind @MamataOfficial owing to her good work. Would recommend having some grip on your politics of hate! https://t.co/kPHt6azW3m pic.twitter.com/fioJXWjZnK
Several social media users have shared the same photo on their Facebook and Twitter handles in 2021. They can be seen here and here.
When we searched for more sources using these keywords, the original photo was found published on Mamata Banerjee’s ‘Didi Ke Bolo’ official Facebook handle on 02 March 2021. ‘Didi Ke Bolo’ is an initiative started by the All India Trinamool Congress Party that provides a platform for the people of West Bengal to directly lodge concerns or complaints to the Trinamool chairperson and state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. This photo was shared as part of the 2021 West Bengal Assembly Election campaign. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the image shared in the post is a morphed one.
To sum it up, a morphed photo is shared as the visuals of Muslims and Hindus jointly supporting Congress party in Uttar Pradesh.

created: January 19, 2022


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Morphed photo shared as visuals of Shahrukh Khan wearing a T-Shirt with ‘Vote for MIM’ quote - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 12, 2021
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as visuals of Shahrukh wearing a T-Shirt quoting ‘Vote for MIM’ with a Kite symbol printed on it. This post claims it as evidence of Shahrukh Khan’s support to the ‘AIMIM’ and its president Asaduddin Owaisi. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of Shahrukh Khan wearing a ‘Vote for MIM’ T-Shirt.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is a morphed one. The original photo shows Shahrukh Khan wearing a plain white T-Shirt. This photo was captured in September 2009, when Shahrukh Khan visited Akshay Kumar on the sets of his film, Blue. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found published on the ‘Getty’ Images website. The description of the photo states, “Actor Shah Rukh Khan arrives to meet Akshay Kumar on the sets of his film Blue in Mumbai on Friday, September 18, 2009”. The original photo shows Shahrukh Khan wearing a plain white T-Shirt. The image was credited to the ‘India Today’ news reporter Yogen Shah.
When we searched for more sources using these keywords, we found similar photos of Shahrukh Khan on several news websites including on the ‘India Today’ website. They can be seen here, here, and here. All these news websites reported that the photo was captured when Shahrukh Khan went to visit Akshay Kumar on the sets of his film, Blue. The ‘Hindustan Times’ news website had published an article in 2018, confirming that the photo showing Shahrukh Khan in the ‘Vote for MIM’ quoted t-shirt is a morphed one.
To sum it up, a morphed photo is falsely shared as visuals of Shahrukh Khan wearing a T-Shirt that says ‘Vote for MIM’.

created: November 12, 2021


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Morphed photo shared as visuals of Taliban men wearing Burka and pretending as Afghan women - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 15, 2021
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as visuals of Taliban men wearing burkas and pretending as pro-Taliban Afghan women. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of Taliban men wearing burkha and pretending as pro-Taliban Afghan women in a meeting.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is a morphed one. On 11 September 2021, tens of pro-Taliban Afghan women have marched a rally in support of the Taliban government and attended a lecture at Kabul University. This photo in the post was created by adding a man face on one of the pro-Taliban women who attended the Kabul University lecture. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found in several tweets posted by Twitter users on 11 September 2021. They can be seen here and here. But the man in burkha attire was not visible in these pictures. ‘TOLO’ news channel Head Lotfullah Najafizada tweeted the original version of the picture on 11 September 2021. Lotfullah Najafizada mentioned it as the visuals of pro-Taliban women gathered in Kabul.
Pro-Taliban women gathering in Kabul. pic.twitter.com/G9GYNpzjNl
When we searched for more sources using these keywords, the original photo was found in an article published by the Afghanistan-based ‘Khaama’ news agency. This article reported that on 11 September 2021, tens of Kabul University women have marched a rally in support of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and attended a lecture at Kabul University.  Around 300 women have reportedly attended this meeting following the strict new dress policies imposed by the Taliban Government. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the image shared in the post is a morphed one.
To sum it up, a morphed photo is being shared as visuals of Taliban men wearing Burka and pretending as Afghan women.

created: September 15, 2021