Photo shows airport in Turkey, not India

Published on March 14, 2025 at 05:55
2 min read
By Akshita KUMARI, AFP India

As India's northern megastate Uttar Pradesh prepares to open a new international air hub, an image purportedly depicting the structure surfaced on multiple social media platforms. The pictured building is in fact Turkey's Istanbul Airport.

"Uttar Pradesh created history by becoming the first Indian state to have 21 airports," reads the Hindi-language Facebook post that shared the picture on March 1, 2025. Text overlaid on the image repeats the claim.

Screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken on March 6, 2025

Similar posts on X and Instagram surfaced ahead of the expected opening of the new Noida International Airport in Uttar Pradesh in May, according to the Hindustan Times newspaper (archived link).

Comments to the posts indicate many social media users believed the image shows the new Indian structure.

"Uttar Pradesh is setting new standards in development under BJP government," one user wrote.

"Uttar Pradesh is becoming number one in the field of development and connectivity under Yogi Adityanath," another said, referring to the state's chief minister.

Adityanath has said in February 2024 that the state would "soon make history" with 21 airports. Indian parliamentary records show it currently has 19 air hubs including the new one in Noida (archived here and here).

A reverse image search on Google found the picture in a news report from Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency on December 12, 2023 (archived link).

"Istanbul Airport scores new success in getting to Carbon Net Zero target," reads the report's headline.

Screenshot comparison of the photo in the false posts (L) and the picture from Anadolu Agency

The official X account of Istanbul Airport also shared an article which includes the same picture on November 26, 2024 (archived link).

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

E-mail