No, Shivraj Singh Chouhan did not plaster different arms in the morning and evening

A set of two photographs of BJP MLA Shivraj Singh Chouhan is viral on social media to claim that the former MP CM had plastered different arms in the morning and in the evening. “ऐसा चमत्कार, सुबह इस हाथ में प्लास्टर, शाम को दूसरे हाथ में प्लास्टर । भगवान शिवराज सिंह चौहान जी के दोनों हाथ जल्द ठीक करे (What a miracle, this hand was plastered in the morning and in the evening, the second hand was plastered. God, please fix Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s both hands.)” – is the caption used to share the images. From the Facebook page ‘Priyanka Gandhi – Future Of India’, the post drew 13,000 shares.

The photographs have also been shared on Twitter. One Pappu Singh INC has posted them with a similar caption – “भाजपा नेताओं को किसी फिल्म जगत में काम करना चाहिए। ऐसा चमत्कार, सुबह इस हाथ में प्लास्टर, शाम को दूसरे हाथ में प्लास्टर । भगवान शिवराज सिंह चौहान जी के दोनों हाथ जल्द ठीक करे.”

AIPC South Mumbai Congress member Ria quote-tweeted the photographs.

Individual users on both Facebook and Twitter have circulated the post.

Which of Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s arms is injured?

The Twitter account of Shivraj Singh Chouhan had uploaded a video of the former CM during Gandhi Jayanti. Alt News took a screenshot from a video where Chouhan is not facing the camera to make it easier for readers to understand which arm is injured. As evident, it’s the right arm which is plastered.

This is also visible in other photographs uploaded by Chouhan’s office.

श्री @ChouhanShivraj ने भारत के पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री स्व. लाल बहादुर शास्त्री की जयंती पर माल्यार्पण कर नमन किया। pic.twitter.com/ohBSZmpIlz

— Office of Shivraj (@OfficeofSSC) October 2, 2019

Moreover, the breast pocket – which is always on the left – on Chouhan’s jacket further proves that his right arm was injured.

Mirror image

If one notices carefully, one of the viral images is a selfie. More often than not, the front cameras of mobile phones act as mirrors. This means that photographs shot using a front camera appear laterally inverted, or reversed. For instance, when you raise your right arm in front of a mirror, the reflection appears to show that the same arm is raised. However, this is not really the case because you are facing yourself in the mirror and not standing in the same direction. Essentially, your front and back are reversed so right is left and left is right.

While on some phones, photographs taken on the front camera are flipped by default, on others, one can turn off ‘mirror image’ in the camera settings.

The man who clicked the selfie with Chauhan must have kept ‘mirror image’ switched-on in his camera settings, which is why it appears that Chouhan’s left arm is injured. However, if you flip the image, it is evident that the right, and not the left, arm is plastered.

The photo-montage below also makes it evident that the right arm is plastered.

In conclusion, two images – one shot with a back camera and the other shot with a front camera – were shared to claim that BJP MLA Shivraj Singh Chouhan plastered different arms at different times during the day. However, selfies are mirror images and it was his right arm which was injured.