Fact check: Green flag in viral image is Indian Union Muslim League ensign, not Pakistani
Against the backdrop of rising fuel prices in India, an image of a green flag with a white star and crescent being...
By Newsmeter Network Published on 19 Feb 2021 5:51 AM GMT
HYDERABAD: Against the backdrop of rising fuel prices in India, an image of a green flag with a white star and crescent being waved in a political rally is viral on social media. Users claim that the Pakistani national flag was waved during a Congress rally.
FACT CHECK:
NewsMeter found that the flag in the viral image is not a Pakistan flag. It is the flag of a political party in Kerala.
We searched online for "green flags with white star and crescent" and came across the party flag of The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a political party from Kerala. We compared the IUML flag to the viral image and noticed that the two looked the same.
We then compared the IUML flag to the Pakistani flag and noticed that the Pakistan national flag has a white vertical band on the left side. It proves that the viral image doesn't show a Pakistan flag.
We also performed a reverse image search and found the viral image in a screengrab from a Facebook video of a Congress rally in North Belgaum that was viral in 2018 and 2019. The video was viral during the 2018 Karnataka Assembly election.
Several fact checks were made to debunk similar false claims by Alt News and First Post. The reports state that the banner is of the Kerala-based Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
Hence, it is confirmed that it was not the Pakistani flag but a party flag of IUML that was waived during the Congress rally in Karnataka, 2018.
