Fact test: the picture of Greta Thunberg eating food in front of poor children is changed

Fact test: the picture of Greta Thunberg eating food in front of poor children is changed

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Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has created a major storm in India after she tweeted in support of farmers’ agitation and accidentally shared a toolkit about the protests earlier this month. Several activists are under police lens regarding the investigation into the toolkit, and social media users have been ruthless against her.

In the midst of this is a image of Greta eating while a group of poor children stare at her is shared through a window on social media, questioning the integrity of the young environmental activist.

Greta calls a fake activist, some users compares her to the Karnataka environmentalist and the Padma Shri-awarded Saalumarada Thimmakka. The image is shared with the trending hashtag #AskGretaWhyom.

India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the viral image of Greta is changing. The original photo shows Greta eating in a train with forest in the background. Reuters took the image of poor children in 2007 in Bodouli, a town in the Central African Republic.

The archived versions of similar posts can be seen here, here and here.

AFWA investigation

A reverse search revealed that on January 22, 2019, Greta herself posted the original picture on her Twitter and Instagram handles. The photo was captioned ‘Lunch in Denmark’.

In the original image it can be clearly seen that Greta is traveling in a train and it is a forest in the background.

In 2019, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s son Eduardo came under fire for sharing this changed image of Greta with poor children in the background.

However, it is also true that Greta expressed criticism about the picture for the plastic material seen on the table.

Story of the children

AFWA tried to find the source of the image of the poor children in Greta’s original picture.

This photo was initially taken in a 2007 Reuters report on a bush war in the Central African Republic. According to the report, the photo was captured in the town of Bodouli, one of the theaters of fighting between government forces and rebels.

The description of the statue reads: ‘Children living in the forests are sitting on a temporary camp for the displaced persons near the town of Bodouli, 23 August 2007. According to local residents, government soldiers Korosigna (in North Central African Republic) fall without warning in January 2006, part of a two-year-old bush war fought against ragged rebels in the northern parts of the former French colony, trapped in the heart of Africa. ”

A comparison between the viral image and the original version shared by Greta can be seen below.

So it is clear that the picture that is being spread in which Greta is getting food while a group of poor children is staring at her.

READ | Fact check: It is not members of Bajrang Dal in UP who demand the repeal of farm laws

READ | Fact test: This is not Amulya, the girl who raised ‘Pakistan’ Zindabad ‘slogans in 2020 during the agricultural protest

India, Climate Activist, Greta Thunberg, Tweet, Farmer Support, Farmers Protest, Three Farm Laws, Toolkit Probe, Protest, Padma Shri, Saalumarada Thimmakka, Jair Bolsonaro, Eduardo, Africa, Poor Children, Fact Check

ClaimPictured is Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who tweeted in support of farmers’ protests in India, luxuriously eaten in front of poor and starving children. ClosureThe image is changed. The original picture from 2019 shows Greta eating in a train with forest in the background. The image of the poor children was taken by Reuters in Bodouli, a village in the Central African Republic, in 2007.

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

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