With just two weeks to go for the Assembly election in Gujarat, the leaders of various political parties in the fray have been amping up their campaign for the keenly watched contest.
Against this backdrop, a picture of a huge crowd thronging a public place is doing the rounds on social media with the claim that it shows a “grand roadshow” by AAP Gujarat chief Gopal Italia in Surat.
The Facebook post goes on to claim that the image “clearly describes the mood of the people of Gujarat”.
Similar claims are being circulated on Twitter, too.
However, The Hindu found that the picture is five years old, and was taken in Kolkata.
A reverse image search led us to a Facebook post by West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee on July 21, 2017. The image shared by her appeared to be a slightly cropped version of the one doing the rounds on social media now.
A keyword search on news reports using the date mentioned in her post revealed that the picture was taken during a TMC rally on Martyrs Day in Kolkata in 2017.
The picture of the TMC rally in a report published by The Hindu.
The Hindu had covered the event. Its report features a photograph showing the same crowd from a wider angle. Ms. Banerjee could be seen addressing the rally.
While Mr. Italia did campaign in Surat around the time the image in question was posted on social media, the claim that the photograph is of his party’s roadshow is false.
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