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Old Image From 2016 Of Man Distributing Meds During Kanwar Yatra Circulated With Fake Communal Spin
Writer: Jakir Hassan
A journalist at heart loves the in-depth work of reporting, writing, editing, research, and data analysis. A digital and social media enthusiast.
India, 2 Aug 2022 11:51 AM GMT
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Creatives : Jakir Hassan
A journalist at heart loves the in-depth work of reporting, writing, editing, research, and data analysis. A digital and social media enthusiast.
We found the viral image is from August 2016. The image actually shows a social activist, Dr Abid Saifi, distributing medicines and fruits to pilgrims taking part in Kanwar Yatra. Hence, the viral claim is false.
Recently, devotees of Lord Shiva took Kanwar Yatra to collect the holy water from the Ganges to worship the Hindu God. Within this context, an image allegedly showing a Muslim man offering money to a Hindu man is going viral.
Efforts are being made to spread communal hatred in areas of Uttar Pradesh where the Kanwar Yatra is being held. The Logical Indian Fact Check Team examined a viral post which claimed that a Muslim man jumped under a truck to commit suicide during the recent Kanwar Yatra. We found that the claim was misleading as it dates back to 2017.
Claim:
The image shows a man wearing a skullcap offering what seems to be money to a person wearing a turban going viral. The translated caption reads, "This is a matter of pride 💪During Kanwar Yatra, Muslims were distributing 500 rupee notes; this Hindu brother flatly refused to take 500 rupee notes, saying you have slit the throats of our Hindu brothers and stabbed them in the back. So even if you give me gold for free, I will not take it."
The post is viral across Facebook as well.
Fact Check:
The Logical Indian Fact Check team verified the viral claims and found it to be false. The viral image is from 2018 and presented out of context.
We conducted a reverse image search on the viral image and came across the same image uploaded to the Facebook page 'Let's Learn Something' on March 27, 2018. On the same page, we came across the following collage of images uploaded on March 27, 2018. The post is captioned, "Hindu Muslim unity, media can't share it. "
The viral image can be noticed alongwith several images of the same person in a skull cap offering fruits to passerbys. The same man can be seen applying first aid to some individuals as well. On one of the images, we noticed texts written on a poster which stated, "Saifi Society Shamli" in Hindi.
We then conducted a keyword search on Facebook with these terms and came across the following post. We came across this Facebook page 'Saifi Samaj Uttar Pradesh' organisation. It identifies as a social worker, as per the About Us page.
On the page, the viral image is shared alongwith several other images from the social welfare activities of the organisation. A user named Ravi Kumar Saini shared the image in a post uploaded on August 1, 2016.
The caption of the post reads, "The example of Hindu-Muslim unity set by Saifi society in Shamli. Youths and elders serving the Lord Shiva devotees during the Kanwar Yatra in Shamli city. I salute these people whose actions are a slap on the face of some of the best leaders and individuals, which promotes communalism in the country." In another image on the page, we noted the name of the social activist as 'Dr Abid Saifi'.
We then conducted a keyword search with the name of the organisation and the activist and came across the following report by India Today, published on August 3, 2016. The title of the article reads, "Communal Harmony: Muslims in Bareilly distribute food to Kanwar yatra pilgrims". The India Today article notes that Saifi Samaj Shamli (Saifi society in Shamli) arranged medical assistance for the pilgrims and distributed fruits and biscuits to them.
The report contained more images from the event organised by Saifi Samaj Shamli.
We also came across Dr Saifi's Facebook account, on which we came across a post which acknowledged that the viral image spreading across social media is misleading.
Conclusion:
We came across the original version of the viral image, which dates back to August 2016. The image actually shows a social activist, Dr Abid Saifi, distributing medicines and fruits to pilgrims taking part in Kanwar Yatra.
Through his organization, Saifi society in Shamli, Dr Saifi society promotes communal harmony during Kanwar Yatra and other religious occasions. He has acknowledged that the viral claim is baseless. Thus, we can conclude that an image from 2016 was shared with a misleading communal spin.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.
Also Read: Video Of Hindu Man Threatening Girls With Knife Viral With False "Love Jihad" Angle
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