Fact Check: Woman stoned to death is not related to Taliban takeover in Afghanistan
An image of a girl with a blood-soaked face is viral on social media. The photo shows the girl surrounded by several people, one of whom also has a stone in his hand.
By Tejal Sinha Published on 21 Aug 2021 4:52 AM GMT
Hyderabad: An image of a girl with a blood-soaked face is viral on social media. The photo shows the girl surrounded by several people, one of whom also has a stone in his hand.
It is being claimed that the girl was an Afghan army pilot who was recently stoned to death by Taliban fighters.
https://twitter.com/Mohinder12/status/1428294298261331969/photo/1
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Fact Check
The claim is False.
NewsMeter performed a Google Reverse Image Search, which led us to a report by The Times published on May 07, 2015, that had used a similar picture. According to the report, four Afghan men have been sentenced to death over the notorious mob killing of a woman falsely accused of burning a Koran. The case polarized views in Afghanistan and led to rare public protests against religious extremism.
The woman according to the report was identified as Farkhunda.
We then found a video report by The New York Times headlined 'The The killing of Farkhunda' published on December 26, 2015.
We found a report by BBC World titled 'The Killing of Farkhunda'. According to the report, Farkhunda, a 27-year-old Afghan woman, and religious scholar, was brutally murdered by a mob in the streets of Kabul in March. At the time it was wrongly alleged that she had burnt the Quran. Her killing sparked unprecedented protests in the Afghan capital. Zarghuna Kargar tells the story of Farkhunda's death through the voices of her family, and others involved in the case, including an exclusive interview with the family of one of the perpetrators.
It is therefore evident that the claim made through the viral post is False. The woman in the viral picture is not a pilot or a victim of Taliban atrocities. The news of the woman being killed dates back to 2015.
