Sandals with Ganesha image surface after 2 decades on social media; Fact Check

A claim on social media showing an image of a pair of sandals with images of Lord Ganesha on them is being shared asking readers to share it further until the company that designed these sandals has been shut down. It has been shared on Facebook as below on June 12, 2023:

FACT CHECK

Since a scandal on the same lines made it to headlines two decades ago, we took it up and searched the image on Google Reverse Image Search and found that the same old image was being used again on social media.

Further news search led us to several news reports on the issue, which was raised by American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD) in 2003 over the use of Lord Ganesha on flip-flops by a company called American Eagle Outfitters.

After a severe backlash from the Hindu organizations in the United States, the company withdrew them from the market and issued an apology. The public apology issued by Neil Bulman, Vice President and General Counsel for American Eagle Outfitters is here.

The issue had been covered widely in several newspapers. However, in 2015, the image was again shared on Twitter as below:

@AEO you need to stop selling these flip flops. You have images of “HINDU GOD GANESHA”. pic.twitter.com/RWhYI5LZhu

— Big Bill (@BimalKatwala) June 8, 2015

Now, two decades later, the same image is being shared with a false claim that it was against the Hindu sentiments. Hence, the issue pertains to 2003 and was resolved already. Hence, the new claim is false.

Claim: A picture of sandals printed with Lord Ganesha’s images is being shared seeking closure of the company.

Conclusion: The issue was two decades old and the company withdrew these sandals from the market and apologised after backlash from Hindu organization in the US.

Rating: Misrepresentation —