This photo shows a 2020 anti-France rally in Bangladesh
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on April 6, 2021 at 11:20
- 2 min read
- By AFP India
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The photo was published here in a Facebook post on March 19, 2021.
The post’s Bangla-language caption translates to English as: “Wow! Islamic parties held protests against Modi in Dhaka today. Islamic parties have shown that patriotism and religiosity are in their hearts. Congratulations to the unity of Islamic people.”
"Modi" refers to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Indian leader's visit to Dhaka for the country’s 50th independence anniversary on March 26, 2021 drew violent protests by Islamist groups, AFP reported. Protesters accused Modi and his Hindu-nationalist government of stoking religious tensions and inciting anti-Muslim violence.
The photo was also shared here, here, here and here on Facebook, and here on Twitter alongside an identical claim.
The image, however, has been shared in a misleading context.
A reverse image search on Google found the same photo was published here in an AFP report on October 28, 2020.
The article reports that Bangladeshi Muslim groups held an anti-France demonstration in Dhaka following Macron’s remarks about cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.
“Members of the Islami Andolan Bangladesh party take part in a march towards the French Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh”, reads the caption of the photo credited to EPA -- the European Pressphoto Agency.
A further search found the photo was also published here on EPA's website alongside a similar description on October 27, 2020.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo published in the misleading Facebook post (L) and the photo on EPA's website (R):
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