False Image of Rahul Gandhi wearing T-shirt with BJP Symbol is being shared; Fact Check

An image that shows Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wearing a t-shirt with the symbol of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on its back is going viral on the internet.

हमने तो पहले ही कहा था की यह राहुल गांधी बीजेपी का एजेंट है, आज हमने राहुल गांधी को रंगे हाथो पकड़ लिया है 😋 pic.twitter.com/pUfd16UnLt

— Harish Mali (@HarishMali06) January 15, 2024

It was shared here and here. The claim was made when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ started in Manipur on January 14, 2024. The caption in Hindi reads, “हमने तो पहले ही कहा था की यह राहुल गांधी बीजेपी का एजेंट है, आज हमने राहुल गांधी को रंगे हाथो पकड़ लिया है” [Translated, it reads: “We had already said that this Rahul Gandhi is an agent of BJP, today we have caught Rahul Gandhi red-handed.”]

FACT CHECK

We found the image of Rahul Gandhi wearing a T-shirt with a BJP symbol very strange and checked the original picture taking the background. Finally, with Google Reverse Image Search, we found that the original image was posted on Congress party’s spokesperson, Supriya Shrinate’s official Instagram page.

Shrinate heads Congress’ social media and digital platforms and she shared the image on January 14 January, 2024 with a caption in Hindi that said, “जब ईस्ट से वेस्ट की यात्रा की बात हुई थी – तो मैंने कहा कि यह यात्रा सिर्फ़ और सिर्फ़ मणिपुर से शुरू हो सकती है” [Translated, it reads: When we spoke about travelling from East to West – I said that this yatra should only start from Manipur.]

But the image has been altered and the BJP symbol was morphed into Rahul Gandhi’s T-shirt.

Claim: Image of Rahul Gandhi wearing a T-shirt with a BJP symbol being shared with a claim that he was a BJP agent.

Conclusion: False, an image of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is being shared to mislead that he was an agent of BJP.

Rating: Misleading —