Old image from Pakistan shared as condition of school in India

by Archit

Several social media users have shared an image of school children sitting on mud. It’s claimed that the image is from India.

Twitter user @shaista04444 posted the viral image. It has over 300 retweets. (archived link)

The image is circulated on social media along with Hindi text, “Look at the condition of schools in the country with the world’s tallest statue.”

[Complete message: दुनिया की सबसे ऊंची मूर्ति वाले देश के स्कूलों की दशा देखें, जरा गौर से देखो इन बालको को, जब सरकार ही इनसे सुविधाये छिन रही हैं तो इन्का भविष्य कैसें बनेगा!! खुद तो सरकार मे अनपढ लोग बैठे हैं और आने वाली पिढी को भी अनपढ बनाने पर तुली हैं. आपमें इस सच्चाई को साझा करने का साहस है??]

Facebook users Faisal Khán, Pranay Aloney and Parvez Khan were among those who shared the image, drawing close to 1,500 shares. Similarly, multiple Twitter users also shared the viral image including @princes_poonam and @Mahijabeen5.

Fact-check

Alt News performed a reverse image search on Google and found that the image was tweeted by Imran Lashari, who works at Ministry of Foreign Affair, Islamabad in Pakistan as per his Twitter bio. He had tweeted the image in 2017 tagging Islamabad-based reporter Rauf Klasra. Lashari wrote, “Government girls primary school wara sehraan tehsil karor district Layyah southpunjab whats your remarks about punjab Government. @KlasraRauf”

Taking this as a clue, a further search led us to an article from 2015 published in Pakistan-based Siasat. As per the website, this school is in Pakistan’s Punjab.

We also found that a Pakistani Twitter user had posted the viral image in 2015. In his tweet, he had tagged Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, federal minister for railways and chief of Awami Muslim League.

The viral image was earlier fact-checked by Fact Crescendo in February.

Thus the social media claim that the image shows children from India are false. The image is from Pakistan and at least five years old.
About the Author

🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023.