In the run-up to the elections in Bengal, the Left Front, together with its allies Congress and the newly formed Indian Secular Front, organized a rally in Kolkata. Brigade Parade Ground Sunday in a massive display of power against the Trinamool Congress and BJP.
On social media, many share two photos of a large gathering claiming to be footage from Sunday’s Brigade Parade Ground event.
Verified Twitter handles from Congress Leaders and units also shared the images with the caption, “Sea of people throngs at the Joint Rally of @INCIndia & @CPIM_WESTBENGAL at Brigade Ground in the Heart of Kolkata! It shows the anger of people in West Bengal. It will definitely give sleepless nights to rulers in Delhi as well as Kolkata. ”
The official Twitter handle of the West Bengal Congress first tweeted one of the images, claiming it was from Brigade Parade Ground on Sunday, but later removed the message. The archived version can be seen here.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that although the Left-Congress-ISF rally in Kolkata witnessed huge crowds, the images shared are from February 2019, when the Left Front held a similar rally on the same ground in the run-up to Lok Sabha election.
The archived versions of the posts are saved here, here and here.
AFWA investigation
Using reverse search, we found that both images were taken in 2019 by various websites. The two photos are actually identical, except for the color filter used on one of them.
The same image is available in the stock photo gallery of Alamy. According to the caption, the photo was taken on February 3, 2019.
“Left-wing activists from different parts of the state are taking part in the Brigade march on the left before the 2019 general election,” the caption said. The photo credit is given to “Saikat Paul / Pacific Press / Alamy Live News”.
A similar picture is on the website of “People’s Democracy”, The weekly newspaper of CPI (M), on February 10, 2019. If we compare the viral image with the photo published on the website, we found striking similarities in the crowd and the position of certain elements on the ground.
Image on the website People’s Democracy
Viral picture
We found another similar image of the same rally published on the website “India Content”.
According to these sites, the photo of the big rally was at Brigade Parade Ground during a rally of the left front on February 3, 2019 before the general election.
It is therefore confirmed that although the left, along with the Allies’ Congress and ISF, organized a large rally at Brigade Parade Ground on 28 February, the image being spread is of a rally of the left front two years back in the same place .
ClaimThis image of a sea of people comes from Sunday’s joint rally of Left Front and Congress in Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground.ClosureThe Brigade Parade Ground on Sunday witnessed large crowds at the joint political rally organized by Left, Congress and the newly formed Indian Secular Front. But this image was taken in February 2019 during another Left rally on the same ground.
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
