2012 Image Revived As Anti Citizenship Amendment Act Rally In Kolkata

The image is viral on Facebook with the caption as, "This is not Pakistan or Bangladesh, this is a scene of anti-CAA protests in Kolkata… We have forgotten the days of torture meted out to Hindus. Even after this we will talk about religious harmony. Hence, Islam is a religion of peace."

(Translated from text in Bangla, ''পাকিস্তান বা বাংলাদেশের নয়, #CAA এর বিরুদ্ধে #কলকাতার দৃশ্য...আমরা বিগত দিনে ঘটে যাওয়া হিন্দুদের উপর অত্যাচারের কথা ভুলে গেছি। এর পরেও আমরা সাম্প্রদায়িক সম্প্রীতির কথা বলব। পুনশ্চ- ইসলাম শান্তির ধর্ম'')

The same post has been shared by other Facebook users.

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BOOM ran a reverse image search and found that the image is not related to the ongoing protests against the recently introduced amendment to the citizenship act. Nationwide protests against the CAA began toward the end of 2019.

The original image was clicked in Kolkata on October 5, 2012 by AFP photographer Dibyanshu Sarkar. The photo is described as, "Indian Muslim children hold anti-US placards as they participate in a protest meeting against the film "Innocence of Muslims" in Kolkata on October 5, 2012. A low-budget, US-produced "Innocence of Muslims" movie has incited a wave of bloody anti-US violence in Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia, Yemen and in several other countries across the Muslim world."

You can see the image on stock images website Gettyimages here.

In fact the viral image which claims the photo is recent has been cropped to hide a poster that says 'Obama go to hell' which would have signalled that the image is not recent.

Violent protests erupted across many Muslim nations including Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia and Yemen following the release of "Innocence of Muslims," in 2012. Directed by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the film is an anti-Islamic film and was considered to be ridiculing prophet Mohammed. More than 50 lives were lost in the protests.

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