Fact Check: Photos from DMK rally passed off as crowd welcoming Rahul Gandhi
With the Tamil Nadu Assembly election scheduled to be held in a single phase on 6 April, two photos of a large...
By Newsmeter Network Published on 29 March 2021 4:08 PM IST
Hyderabad: With the Tamil Nadu Assembly election scheduled to be held in a single phase on 6 April, two photos of a large crowd gathered around a van are being shared on social media with the claim that they show Tamil Nadu citizens welcoming Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading as the images are from DMK president M.K Stalin's election rally in Tamil Nadu on 19 March 2021.
The archived versions of similar posts can be seen here and here.
Fact Check:
We performed a reverse image search and found one of the images in a tweet by the official DMK account from 19 March.
A report by Aaj Tak from 20 March also had one of the images. The report stated that DMK president M.K Stalin campaigned in Tirupur. "With the coming of the dates of elections in Tamil Nadu, the parties have intensified the election campaign. On Friday, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president M.K Stalin campaigned in Tirupur. Here he sought the support of the people for his party," reads the report.
Stalin also posted a video of the campaign rally on his official account on 19 March. The caption, upon translation, reads, "Campaigning for votes from the people of Kinathukadavu, Sulur, Pollachi and Thondamuthur constituencies."
Further, on 19 and 20 March, Rahul Gandhi was on a two-day visit to Assam.
Hence, the claim that the two viral photos show a crowd welcoming Rahul Gandhi in Tamil Nadu is FALSE.
