A photo of a child selling face masks goes viral with the claim that he is giving it away for free to those who cannot afford it, as his mother advised him to help those in need.
The news clippings go viral on social media.
At the same time, strict Covid-19 protocols have been put in place to control the second wave of the pandemic, a striking picture of a child selling face masks circulating on social media. The emotional claim in the photo says that the boy is giving away masks for free to those who do not have money, as his mother asked him to help people in need.
Various Facebook users who shared picture with a Hindi caption translating to: “Kid says, if you do not have money, you will give away masks for free, mum said people need help”.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) did not find such an emotional story in the photo. This is the seven-year-old Uzbillah who last year sold masks with his brother on a street corner in the Karachi in Pakistan.
The archived versions of the posts are saved here and here.
What AFWA found
Using reverse image search, we found that the original picture of the boy and his brother was published on several international as well as Pakistani Websites last year.
According to these sites, the photo was taken by the news agency Reuters. We have the original picture on the Reuters website, with credits to photographer Akhtar Soomro.
The caption of the photo reads: ‘The seven-year-old Uzbillah stands with face masks on a stick and sells it with his brother on the corner of a street during a lockout after Pakistan closed all markets, public places and large gatherings at in the midst of an outbreak of coronavirus. disease (COVID-19), in Karachi, Pakistan, 31 March 2020. REUTERS / Akhtar Soomro ”.
Neither Reuters nor any Pakistani media mentioned such an emotional story that the boy was giving away masks for free to those who did not have money, as advised by his mother.
We found no redundant information about the boy other than what was mentioned in the Reuters photo. Therefore, it can be concluded that the Facebook claim about the child is misleading.
ClaimThis child who sells face masks gives it away for free to those who cannot afford it, as his mother advised him to help those in need. ClosureWe could not find such a story with the boy. It is seven-year-old Uzbillah who, along with his brother, sold masks on a street corner in Karachi, Pakistan, in March last year.
JHOOTH BOLE KAUVA KAATE
The number of crows determines the intensity of the lie.
- 1 Crow: Half true
- 2 crows: mostly lies
- 3 crows: absolutely false
