A photograph of an AAP billboard has been shared by BJP leaders and members on social media. The billboard purportedly reads, “Congratulations Delhi, 10 new dustbins have been installed at Kirtinagar Industrial Area. (बधाई हो दिल्ली कीर्तिनगर इंडस्ट्रियल एरिया में दस नए डस्टबिन की व्यवस्था.)” Below is a tweet by BJP Delhi MP Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma.

The alleged advertisement was also shared by BJP spokespersons Shalabh Mani Tripathi and Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga. Their tweets were quote-tweeted by Kapil Mishra and Ravinder Gupta respectively. BJP spokesperson Naveen Kumar Jindal also shared the same.

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The image is widespread on Facebook.

Fact-check

A close look at the billboard reveals subtle red flags that prove the picture has been digitally morphed. For instance, two different shades of blue can be spotted on the left. The blue used on top is darker. This indicates that colour has been to cover what was printed on the original billboard. The person editing did a close enough job but it is not an exact match.

In the following image two observations need to be made – 1) Reflection never abruptly stops but always gradually fades out. There is no reflection of the light right on top of the word ‘हो’ and beyond. 2) Furthermore, the reflection of the light should be on top of the matra on ‘हो’ instead, the matra is over the reflection.

Lastly, there are remnants of text on the left.

The Aam Aadmi Party is routinely criticised by political opponents and supporters of the BJP for large expenditure on advertisements. OpIndia had penned an article on AAP’s advertisement on its COVID-19 family financial assistance scheme published in numerous newspapers.

The design of this ad in English, Hindi and Gujarati is similar to the viral image. The photograph of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is also the same.

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Photos of the ad placed on billboards are available on social media and the design looks identical apart from the areas where the text has been altered.

From what it looks, this billboard was placed in a metro station or a railway station. Advertisements of the COVID financial assistance scheme have also been put up by the AAP in other areas.

On July 6, CM Kejriwal discussed the scheme and its benefits to families who have lost members to COVID.

A billboard featuring an advertisement by AAP was morphed to show the party congratulating the people of Delhi for installing 10 dustbins. Earlier, another hoarding was morphed to falsely portray the AAP celebrating the construction of a speed-breaker.

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About the Author

Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News.