The image has been doctored from a photo of a protest against Vladimir Putin in Kuwait
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on October 2, 2019 at 10:30
- 3 min read
- By AFP India
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The image was published here on Facebook on August 9, 2019, where it has been shared more than 4,600 times.
Below is a screenshot of the misleading Facebook post:
The post’s Hindi-language caption translates to English as: “People took to the streets with shoes and slippers in Saudi Arabia against Modi, protesting against government atrocities on Indian Muslims, and for an attempt by the Indian government to tamper with Islamic laws by bringing Triple Talaq law. Protesters showed slippers and shoes to Modi posters.”
Modi refers to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The “Triple Talaq law” refers to legislation which was passed on July 30, 2019 against the Muslim practice of “instant divorce”, making it a criminal offence punishable by up to three years in prison, as reported here by AFP.
The image was also published here and here on Facebook, and here and here on Twitter with a similar claim.
The claim is false, the image has been doctored to include a photo of Modi on a poster which originally showed the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The original photo shows a protest against Moscow’s support of the Syrian regime outside the Russian embassy in Kuwait in December 2016.
A reverse image search on Google found an earlier version of the photo published in a Twitter post here on December 14, 2016.
The post’s Arabic-language caption translates to English as: “Kuwaitis did a protest in front of the Russian Embassy .. And raised their boots.”
The photo in the placard has been manipulated by replacing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s photo with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s face.
Below is a screenshot of the misleading post photo (L) Twitter photo (R):
A similar photo from the protest was also published here in a news report on Arabic language news website Al-Ittihad Press on December 14, 2016.
The English-language translation of the Arabic-language news headline reads: “Pictures and video: ‘An angry demonstration in Kuwait in support of Aleppo’.”
AFP published a photo here from the same protest. The photo was taken by AFP photographer Yasser Al-Zayyat on December 14, 2016, in Kuwait city.
Below is a screenshot of the AFP photograph:
The photo’s caption states: “A protestor holds a poster of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a demonstration outside the Russian embassy to condemn Moscow's support of the Syrian regime besieging rebel-held Aleppo on December 14, 2016, in Kuwait City.
“Carrying banners saying 'Stop crimes' and 'Save Aleppo,' around 2,000 demonstrators marched on the diplomatic compound housing the embassy in Kuwait City. Kuwait's parliament is set to hold a special debate on Aleppo on December 28, speaker Marzouk al-Ghanem said. Yasser Al-Zayyat / AFP.”
The news about the protest on December 14, 2016, in Kuwait city was also published in English language media reports, for example here on Arabtimesonline.com and here on Arabnews.com.
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