Images of massive crowds at INDIA’s Maha Vishwas rally in Gandhi Maidan of Patna photoshopped; Fact Check

Posted by: Arun Nag March 4, 2024

On Sunday, March 3, 2024, a huge public meeting of the INDIA bloc was held in Gandhi Maidan of Patna for the Jan Vishwas Maharally. It was addressed by leaders including the Congress Party’s Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Lalu Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav, and the Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav among others.

Soon after the rally, several images were shared on social media claiming that more than 12 lakh people joined the historic rally. Here are some claims:


Another tweet claimed to show massive crowds at Gandhi Maidan and the estimate ranged between 12 lakh and 13 lakh people.

 

FACT CHECK

When Digiteye India got a query on its WhatsApp about the authenticity of the gathering, the team checked for the original image, if any as often such claims prove misleading. Taking the original image we checked for similar images but most of the claims showed the entire gandhi Maidan filled with people. We also found that the key features such as trees were missing in the images wherever claims were made that more than 10 to 12 lakh people attended.

See the difference here:

The old image also shows crowds but not beyond the trees as seen in the aerial photo. Secondly, see the difference in the colour of the top two stages of the original photo, which is white and green whereas the altered picture shows both stage tops in green. The following two tweets show the difference clearly:

Hence, the photo that has been photoshopped was shared as the INDIA bloc’s Jan Vishwas Maharally held on Sunday, March 3, 2024, to claim that 12 lakh people attending it.

Claim: An image showing Jan Vishwas rally in Patna shared with a claim that 10 lakh people attended it.
Conclusion: An altered image has been used to claim 10 lakh people attended the Jan vishwas public meeting at Gandhi Maidan.

Rating: Misrepresentation —

About Arun Nag

Arun is with Digiteye India since the beginning as the main source for re-writing copies and re-checking the facts and images. He writes on general and tech issues. He can be reached at arunnag@digiteye.in

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