FACT CHECK: Picture of Rihanna holding Pakistani flag is morphed
An image that supposedly shows Rihanna Fenty, a Barbadian singer, holding the Pakistan flag is viral on social media.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 4 Feb 2021 7:15 AM GMT
HYDERABAD: An image that supposedly shows Rihanna Fenty, a Barbadian singer, holding the Pakistan flag is viral on social media. This became viral after the singer tweeted in support of the farmers' protest.
BJP UP Yuva Morcha worker Abhishek first tweeted the image. It was retweeted by BJP Uttar Pradesh spokesperson Shalabh Mani Tripathi.
FACT CHECK:
NewsMeter found that the image is morphed and that the original image shows the singer holding a flag with the Cricket West Indies (CWI) crest.
We performed a reverse image search and found a YouTube video from July 2019 with the title," Pop singer Rihanna was seen cheering for West Indies". We noticed that in this clip, Rihanna was holding a flag with the Cricket West Indies (CWI) crest and not a Pakistan flag. This indicates that the viral image has been morphed.
The original photo was tweeted by the official account of the International Cricket Council (ICC) on July 1, 2019, during the West Indies vs Sri Lanka match, with the text, "Look who's at #SLvWI to Rally 'round the West Indies! Watch out for @rihanna's new single, Shut Up And Cover Drive".
The same image was carried by a news report INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES in June 2019. "It was the leading name in English pop music Rihanna who wasn't just there at the stadium to watch the match but support West Indies team", reads the article.
Evidently, it is clear that the viral image is morphed and Rihanna was holding a CWI crest flag and not a Pakistani flag.
