A viral image purporting to show former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray bowing before Rahul Gandhi is digitally altered and fake.
BOOM found that the original photo does not show Thackeray bowing to Gandhi.
Thackeray along with his son Aaditya Thackeray had met with the Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi on August 7, 2024. Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (Sharad Pawar) are set to contest the upcoming Maharashtra assembly election together that is scheduled later this year against the ruling BJP - Eknath Shinde led Shiv Sena, and NCP led by Ajit Pawar.
The photo was posted by the X handle @JaipurDialogues with the caption, "Shocking if true." BOOM has previously debunked misinformation posted by Jaipur Dialogues.
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BOOM also received the manipulated photo on its WhatsApp helpline number (7700906588) inquiring about the image.
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral photo is digitally altered. In the original, Uddhav Thackeray is seen presenting a bouquet to Rahul Gandhi. A separate image of Thackeray bowing and greeting Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s parents with folded hands has been inserted into the viral photo to make the false claim.
The original photo was posted by news agency IANS on August 7, 2024, with a bunch of other photos of the two leaders, with the caption, "In pictures: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and MLA Aditya Thackeray meet Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's residence"
Thackeray can be seen standing and wearing a different colour kurta in the original set of photos tweeted out by IANS.
Additionally, the image of Thackeray bowing has been taken from another photo of Thackeray greeting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's parents when he met them.
The original photo was posted by Shiv Sena (UBT)'s official handle on X on August 8, 2024, with the caption when translated from Marathi to English reads, "Party Chief Uddhav Thackeray met the family of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Shiv Sena leader MLA Aditya Thackeray, Shiv Sena leader MP Sanjay Raut, MP Raghav Chadha, MP Sanjay Singh were present on this occasion."
A comparison showing how both the photos have been digitally altered and combined to make the viral image can be seen below:
Shiv Sena (UBT)'s official handle reacted to the viral fake photo stating that the party would be filing a police against the handle for posting the manipulated photo.
The caption of the post read, "We will be filing a police case for tweeting fake and manipulated images. We know it’s the 'BJP' DNA to keep lying and being crass, but still!"
