Visuals of Indian opposition leader 'posing with YouTuber detained for spying' are altered

Published on May 30, 2025 at 08:06
3 min read
By Akshita KUMARI, AFP India

Two images of Rahul Gandhi have circulated in social media posts falsely claiming they are proof that the Indian opposition Congress party leader had posed for photos with a YouTuber arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan. They surfaced after four days of fighting between the nuclear-armed foes, but the originals show the visuals were altered to insert the YouTuber's face.

The Hindi-language Facebook post shared on May 21, 2025 says Indian YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra can be seen with Gandhi in the images (archived link).

"What a strange coincidence that every traitor and anti-national is seen with Rahul Gandhi!" it says. "Is Rahul Gandhi the mastermind behind the turmoil in the country?"

Screenshot of the false post, captured on May 23, 2025

The post surfaced after Indian authorities accused Malhotra and ten other people of leaking military information to Pakistan (archived link).

The nuclear-armed foes agreed to a ceasefire on May 10, ending four days of intense fighting that claimed over 70 lives on both sides (archived link).

Fighting erupted two weeks after an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir killed 26 people, which India blamed on Pakistan but denied by Islamabad.

The image was shared with similar claims elsewhere on Facebook, X and Threads, with comments showing some users believed it was genuine.

"I have noticed one thing ... wherever treason is mentioned, Congress is mentioned too," one comment said.

Another wrote, "Congress headquarters is a training centre for traitors."

But a reverse image search on Google revealed the images had been altered.

State lawmaker Aditi Singh shared the first picture on Facebook on December 16, 2017 when she was a member of the Congress party before joining the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2021 (archived link).

The photo's caption reads, "Many congratulations and best wishes to Honourable Rahul Gandhi. Jai Hind!"

Screenshot comparison of the image in the false post (L) and on Singh's Facebook page

Another search reveals Gandhi published the original of the second photo on his Facebook page on September 18, 2022 when he travelled across India as part of his Bharat Jodo Yatra campaign (archived here and here).

It shows him posing for a picture with a person different from that seen in the false post.

Screenshot comparison of the image in false post (L) and on Gandhi's Facebook page

AFP has debunked a series of false claims about the India-Pakistan conflict here.

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