FACT CHECK: Manila river passed off as polluted Mithi canal of Maharashtra

The tweet intended to draw a comparison in terms of the cleanliness of both rivers. It clocked over 1000 retweets and over 2500 likes.

Click here to view the post and here for the archive.

Click here to view more posts on Twitter.

FACT CHECK:

The tweet is misleading. One of the pictures is from the Philippines.

1. IMAGE OF DIRTY RIVER (RIGHT)

NewsMeter performed a reverse image search and found that the viral image was taken in 2008 in Manila, Philippines. The image was found on Shutterstock with the title, "A river of garbage prevents the flow of water on January 6, 2008, in Manila, Philippines. Poverty and garbage disposal are major issues in the Philippines". The same was also reported by BBC and was credited to Getty Images.

The image does not show a dirty Mithi river. It is in fact a river in Manila that faced severe garbage disposal issues in 2008.

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/manila-philippines-january-6-river-garbage-81096307

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190613-a-simple-online-system-that-could-end-plastic-pollution

2. IMAGE OF CLEAN RIVER (LEFT)

NewsMeter performed a reverse image search and found the viral image in an article by The Economic Times from 2018. The river is identified as Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad. The Sabarmati Riverfront is a project undertaken in order to promote tourism and preserve the waterbody.

The project aims to provide Ahmedabad with a meaningful waterfront environment along the banks of the Sabarmati River and to redefine the identity of Ahmedabad around the river. The project looks to reconnect the city with the river and positively transform the neglected aspects of the riverfront.

https://sabarmatiriverfront.com/the-project/

The comparison made by social media users of Sabarmati River and Mithi river is misleading. The picture claiming to show Mithi river is an old photo from Manila.

Thus, the claim is misleading.