An image of $100 bill with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj created using editing website is being shared on WhatsApp with a false claim that the United States has declared February 19 as 'World Chhatrapati Shivaji Day'.
February 19 is listed as the birthday of Shivaji Maharaj by the Maharashtra government and is observed as a holiday commemorating Shivaji's birth, however scholars have disagreed on the date.
The message with the fake bill is accompanied by text in Marathi which translates to the following.
"Biggest News: A happy and proud news for India, the United States has declared that February 19th should be celebrated as World Chhatrapati Day as the birth of the famous Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Special thanks to the United States for this. Spread the message as much as you can."
(Translated from Marathi - "ब्रेकिंग न्यूज सर्वात मोठी आनंदाची बातमी भारतासाठी एक आनंदाची आणि अभिमानाची बातमी आहे , अमेरिकेने घोषित केले की १९ फेब्रुवारी हा दिवस जागतिक " छत्रपती दिन " म्हणून पाळला जावा कारण या दिवशी जगत विख्यात छत्रपती शिवाजी महाराज यांचा जन्म झाला आहे . या बद्दल अमेरिकेचे विशेष आभार . हा संदेश आपणास जेवढा पसरविता येईल तेवढा पसरवा.")
One can spot "CL 01985909BL12" on the top left corner of the note and on the bottom right corner 'CL 01985909BL'.
Also Read: New Rs 1000 Note Released By RBI? Not Quite
FACT-CHECK
We searched for coverage on the United States declaring February 19 as 'World Chhatrapati Day' and did not find any news reports that backs the claim in the viral WhatsApp forward.
We searched a list of Commemorative Days observed in the US, and did not find 'World Chhatrapati Day' on it.
On searching for methods to insert faces on a $100 bill, we found that the image of Shivaji Maharaj has been added using the website Pho.to.
On the website, under the money template / US Dollar, one can upload an image with a face that be replaced on the bill which originally has the American founding father Benjamin Franklin on it. (Click here to view the original 100 dollar bill.)
We uploaded a photo of Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan as an example and found that the numbers on the top left of the bill and the bottom right match with the fake $100 Shivaji bill. Even the signature on both the bills match each other.
We cropped the photo of Shivaji Maharaj used on the fake note and found that it had been mirrored and given a black and white color as the original image can be found online.
This piece of misinformation was earlier debunked by Fact Crescendo. The same fake note has been shared on Facebook since 2018.
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