AFP reported that the original photo was published on the ICC official Twitter account on July 1, 2019, showing Rihanna holding a flag with the official logo of the West Indies cricket team.
(Left) A doctored image of Rihanna with Pakistan flag (right) the actual image of Rihanna with West Indies flag from 2019. AFP
An image allegedly showing Rihanna holding the Pakistani national flag was posted online on social media after the pop star tweeted her support for protesting farmers in India. But the image, which has been shared tens of thousands of times, has been doctored: the original photo actually shows Rihanna holding a West Indian flag at a cricket match in 2019.
The doctored image was published in this Facebook post on February 3, 2021. It has been shared hundreds of times.
The headline of the Hindi language is translated into English as: “Rihanna is the new godmother of the anti-government group. Now you can understand who she really is. ‘
A screenshot of a post sharing a doctored image of Rihanna with Paksitan flag. AFP
Rihanna, who has more than 100 million Twitter followers, posted a tweet on February 2, 2021 with a link to CNN story about the ongoing Indian farmers’ protests against new agricultural laws. CNN reported there was an internet outage in the camps where tens of thousands of Indian farmers have been living since November 2020.
‘Why are we not talking about this ?! # FarmersProtest ”, reads her tweet.
why are we not talking about this ?! # FarmersProtest https://t.co/obmIlXhK9S
– Rihanna (@rihanna) 2 February 2021
Her tweet received more than 313,000 retweets and 740,000 likes as of February 4, 2021. Some Indian celebrities slammed the Barbadian singer for her comments. Sports legend Sachin Tendulkar and a large number of Bollywood stars have decided what the Indian Foreign Ministry calls ‘sensational’ Twitter comments. AFP reported on the setback here. Arch-enemies Pakistan and India have been locked up in dispute over Kashmir, and the image of Rihanna allegedly holding the Pakistani flag has been widely shared following the Barbadian singer’s tweet, for example here and here on Facebook, and here and here on Twitter, together with a similar claim. The claim is false: the image was doctored to include the Pakistani national flag. Doctored image A reverse image search on Google found that the original photo was published on July 1, 2019 on the official Twitter account of The International Cricket Council (ICC). Rihanna holds a flag with the official logo of West Indian cricket. ‘Look who’s at #SLvWI to Rally’ around the West Indies! Look out for @ rihanna’s new single, Shut Up And Cover Drive, ”reads the tweet.
See who’s there #SLvWI to rally in the West Indies!
Beware of @rihanna‘s new single, Shut Up And Cover Drive 😉🎶 # CWC19 | #MenInMaroon pic.twitter.com/cou1V0P7Zj
– ICC (@ICC) 1 July 2019
Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading reports (L) and the photo in the ICC’s tweet (R):
(Left) A doctored image of Rihanna with Pakistan flag (right) the actual image of Rihanna with West Indies flag from 2019. AFP
Rihanna also posted a photo of herself on Instagram on July 2, 2019, with a cap knitted with the cricket weapon of the West Indies.
Below is a screenshot of the West Indies cricket weapon taken on the official website:
West Indies Cricket Board logo. Image courtesy: www.windiescricket.com
The West Indies played Sri Lanka on 1 July 2019 in the English market town of Chester-le-Street during the 2019 World Cup cricket tournament.
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