Fact Check: Image of Param Vir Chakra shared as Khel Ratna
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award was renamed Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award. Following this a poster with an image of a medal has gone viral.
By Tejal Sinha Published on 10 Aug 2021 7:20 PM IST
Hyderabad: On 6 August 2021, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award was renamed Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award. Following this a poster with an image of a medal has gone viral.
The poster also has an image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the text reads, "Thank you Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for supporting the idea of millions of Indians."
It has been shared on Twitter by news outlets, politicians, and prominent personalities.
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Fact Check
The viral poster is misleading.
NewsMeter performed a Google reverse image search of the medal in the viral poster. The search directed us to the official website of the ministry of Defence. We clicked on the awardees section of the website which further led us to the list of all Param Vir Chakra awardees.
We then performed a keyword search which further led us to the official website of the Indian Air Force. We then clicked on the 'Honours and Awards' section. The section had a description of the Param Vir Chakra award.
We also found a report by India Today published on 14 August 2019 titled "From Param Vir Chakra to Shaurya Chakra: Facts on the 6 gallantry awards of India". The report had a picture of the Param Vir Chakra.
NewsMeter searched for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and was directed to the official website of the Athletics Federation of India.
We found the image of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award on Getty Images. Indian boxer Mary Kom is seen being awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.
It is therefore evident that the image of the medal in the viral poster is the Param Vir Chakra award and not the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award. Hence, the poster is misleading.
