This image of youths sporting ISIS t-shirts is not from Kerala

Hyderabad: After the release of the controversial film ‘The Kerala Story,’ an image of youths sporting black t-shirts with ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and al-Shams) written on them has gone viral. People sharing the photo claim it is from Kerala.

Right-wing commentator Shefali Vaidya posted the image and wrote, “This is a picture from Kerala, local Muzlim youth wearing ISIS t-shirt and posing with the ISIS hand signal that there is only ONE God, THEIR God! And yet, people have the nerve to say that #LoveJihad is myth. #TheKeralaStory is REAL! (sic)”

Another Twitter user shared the image with the same claim and a Facebook user shared a screenshot of Shefali Vaidya’s tweet.

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the image is from Tamil Nadu.

In another tweet, Ms. Vaidya claimed that the image is from Tamil Nadu and not Kerala.

Taking a cue from this, we performed a reverse image search and found the image in 2014 reports by The Hindu, NDTV, and Scroll.in.

The Hindu said a group of 26 Muslim youths on Eid day posed for a photograph, sporting black t-shirts with the emblem of ISIS at the coastal town of Thondi in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu.

According to NDTV, after the photo surfaced, Abdul Rahman who was taken under custody for questioning, told the police that they donned ISIS t-shirts after the group released Indian nurses in strife-torn Iraq without harming them and they had only shared their gratefulness over the release of the nurses. It also mentioned that the photo is from Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu.

From this, we conclude that an old image from Tamil Nadu is being shared with the claim that Muslim men in Kerala are supporting ISIS. Hence, the claim is misleading.