Fact Check: Photo of RJ Sayema falsely shared as Karnataka’s pro-Hijab girl Muskan Khan
The girl in the burqa is indeed Muskan. However, the woman in the pink hoodie is Sayema Rahman, a radio jockey at Radio Mirchi.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 16 Jun 2023 11:08 AM GMT
Screenshot of the post tweeted by the handle @Mahesh_garg
Hyderabad: A collage of two photos, one showing a woman in a pink hoodie and jeans and another showing a burqa-clad girl, is being widely shared on social media. Those sharing the photos claim that the photos show Muskan Khan, the burqa-clad girl from Karnataka’s Mandya, who had stood up against saffron-clad boys chanting “Jai Shri Ram” slogans in February 2022.
The posts suggest that while Muskan protested against the Hijab ban in India, she is now living a Western lifestyle in London.
(Source: Twitter/@Mahesh_garg)
Many Facebook users have shared the photos claiming the same. (Click here to view the posts.)
Fact Check
NewsMeter verified that the girl in the burqa is indeed Muskan. However, the woman in the pink hoodie is Sayema Rahman, a radio jockey at Radio Mirchi. Upon a reverse image search, we found four images, including the one in the pink hoodie tweeted by Sayema on June 6. “London is beautiful,” read the caption.
Further, we checked Sayema’s Instagram account and found that she has shared several photos in the same pink hoodie under the story highlight titled ‘London.’
On June 6, Sayema shared a video of several photos, including the viral image in the pink hoodie. She shared the video with the hashtag London and Scotland.
On performing a reverse image search of the second photo of the girl in a burqa, we came across multiple reports which identified her as Muskan Khan — the poster girl of the hijab protest in Karnataka. (Click here and here to see the reports.)
Hence, we conclude that a photo of radio jockey Sayema Rahman is being deliberately misidentified as Muskan Khan, the poster girl of the hijab protest in Karnataka.
