Photo of scenic lake in northwest China does not show 'hotel in India'

This article is more than one year old.
Published on May 10, 2023 at 11:50
3 min read
By AFP India

A photo of a crescent-shaped lake next to a pagoda-like structure in the middle of a desert in China has been shared hundreds of times in social media posts that falsely claim it shows a hotel in India's northern state of Rajasthan. The picture corresponds with satellite imagery on Google Maps of a scenic spot in China's northwest Gansu province.

"This is not a picture from America or London. This beautiful hotel is located in Barmer near Bagthal crossroads in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan in India. Isn't this beautiful," reads the Hindi-language caption of the photo shared on Facebook on April 24.

The post -- which claims the photo was taken in Rajasthan's city of Jaisalmer in the heart of the Great Indian Desert -- has been shared more than 700 times.

Screenshot of false Facebook post taken on May 2

The photo has also been shared alongside a similar false claim on Facebook here and here and on Twitter.

Comments from some social media users suggested they believed the photo was taken in India.

"Amazing and matchless. A beautiful scene. Hail Rajasthan," one wrote.

Another said, "Our Rajasthan is number 1 in the world."

But the photo was actually taken in China, not India.

A Google reverse image search found it was previously posted on a China-based Instagram account on April 11, 2021 alongside hashtags that indicated it was taken in China (archived link).

Below is a screenshot comparison of the image shared in the false posts (left) and the photo posted on Instagram (right):

A screenshot comparison of the image shared in the false posts (left) and the photo posted on Instagram (right).

Keyword searches using the hashtags in the Instagram post found corresponding images taken by the Chinese state news agency Xinhua in AFP's archives here, here and here (archived links here, here and here).

The photos are captioned: "Aerial photo taken on Jan. 21, 2019 shows the view of the snow-covered Crescent Moon Spring scenic spot on the Mingsha Mountain in Dunhuang, northwest China's Gansu Province."

The crescent-shaped lake and nearby structure both correspond to Google Maps satellite imagery here of the location in China's northwest Gansu province (archived link).

Below is another comparison of the original photo (left) and a screenshot from Google Maps (right):

A comparison of the original photo (left) and a screenshot from Google Maps (right).

Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.

E-mail