A picture of several foreigners participating in a protest march holding banners that purportedly say ‘Justice for Sushant’ has gone viral on social media. A vehicle parked in the background reads ‘Nigeria Police’. While sharing this picture, users are demanding justice for Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput who died by suicide on June 14. A Twitter user with the display name ‘Sushant in our hearts forever (SSRF)’ tweeted the photo while thanking Nigeria. (archived link)
Twitter user @FanofSSR2 also tweeted the picture with the same claim. (archived link)
Another Twitter user shared the photo. Since then, it has also gone viral on Facebook with the accompanying claim.
Morphed image
Performing a simple reverse image search establishes that the picture being circulated on social media is morphed. The original photo had been published in a CNN report dated October 13, 2020. In this photo, people can be seen carrying placards and banners with slogans that have nothing to do with the late actor. Their posters originally read ‘Reform Police’, ‘Disband Sars’, and ‘Sars Authorized Criminals’ as shown below.
According to the CNN report, this picture was taken during a protest of the ‘END SARS’ movement against police brutality in Nigeria. The demonstration was being held by young people protesting against the Police Unit Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Nigeria over certain violent incidents. The Nigerian people have accused the squad of kidnapping, police brutality, harassment, and extortion. The report also mentioned that several well-known international singers and actors tweeted in support of the movement
Media outlets including FR24 News and News Africa also shared this picture from the protest march. Apart from this, the demonstration was also covered by Premium Times, a Nigerian newspaper.
Therefore, photographs of a protest against police brutality in Nigeria were edited and circulated on social media. While sharing the viral image, users claimed that the Nigerian people were demanding justice for late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
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