FACT CHECK: Image of potbellied Taliban leaders is morphed
Twitter user Nadir Saikal has posted a cheeky tweet on his timeline. “We fought Americans with hungry stomachs and no food for 20 years!
By Shimron Diana Published on 25 Oct 2021 10:30 AM GMT
Hyderabad: Twitter user Nadir Saikal has posted a cheeky tweet on his timeline. "We fought Americans with hungry stomachs and no food for 20 years! We fought the Americans for 20 years with empty stomachs and without food" reads the tweet.
The tweet had an image attached. In the picture, men dressed in traditional Taliban outfits have huge stomach paunch.
(Find the image of the tweet here)
Fact Check:
The claim is false. The image attached with the tweet is morphed and circulated with false claims.
Firstly, News Meter carried out a reverse image search and came across an article by NBC News. "Members of the Taliban's peace negotiation team attend a meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the Qatari capital, Doha, on Nov. 21," the report said.
The media organization carried the original picture. The article was published in February 2021.
(Find the link to the article by NBC News here)
(Find the differences between the original image and morphed image here)
Secondly, we also came across another article by vox.com. "Members of the Taliban's peace negotiation team attend a meeting with then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Doha, Qatar, on November 21, 2020," the report said.
The article also had an original image.
(Find the link to the article by Vox.com here)
We also came across a YouTube video which contained similar visuals.
(Find the link to the YouTube video here)
Conclusion: Hence the virally circulated image is morphed. It is being shared with false claims.
