LA Times cartoon edited to target Rahul Gandhi, was earlier used against Modi

A caricature of Rahul Gandhi has been shared on social media claiming that it was published on the cover page of ‘New York Time Magazine’.

A user named Bharat Bhavsar (@BharatBhavsar11) shared the image on Twitter. He wrote the following in Hindi: “India’s Congressmen (especially Hindus) should die by drowning. This photo was published in the world’s famous magazine New York Time Magazine. It tells the reality of Congress to the whole world. Even after this if someone supports Congress, he should get his DNA test done, of course, his ancestors”

*भारत के ( विशेष रूप से हिंदू ) कांग्रेसियों को डूब कर मर जाना चाहिए , विश्व की प्रख्यात पत्रिका यू यार्क टाइम मैगजीन पर छपी इस फोटो ने कांग्रेस की असलियत पूरे विश्व को बता दिया है।इसके बाद भी अगर कोई कांग्रेस को सपोर्ट करता है तो वो अपना डी एन ए टेस्ट करवा ले निसंदेह उसके पुरखों pic.twitter.com/BUITyH2KlR

— Bharat Bhavsar (@BharatBhavsar11) June 4, 2023

Alt News received requests on its app to fact-check the claim.

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Viral Earlier as Well

The same image was viral in 2019 as well.

Then, it was accompanied by the following claim: “ये न्यूयॉर्क टाइम्स अमेरिका की प्रतिष्ठित मैगजीन में कवरपेज पर कार्टून छपा है। इसी से पता चलता है कि विदेशी मिडिया भी कांग्रेस के बारे में कैसी सोच रखता है। (This cartoon was published on a cover page of the reputed American magazine New York Times. This shows what international media thinks of Congress.)”. The post below was made by a Facebook page named ‘Har har modi ghar ghar modi’.

The cartoon, attempting to show Congress as terror sympathizers, was then viral on Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp.

Fact Check: The Image is Morphed

No such cartoon was published by The New York Times. The viral caricature is a morphed version of the original cartoon that was published by the LA Times in a 2012 article – “Republican Party suckles at the breast of Big Business.”

Earlier viral to target PM Modi

A different morphed version of the same cartoon was debunked by Alt News in March 2019 when it was shared targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Former Indian cricketer and Lok Sabha MP Kirti Azad had tweeted the caricature. He later took down his tweet.

So it is clear that a 10-year-old caricature published in LA Times was morphed with Rahul Gandhi’s face to falsely portray that foreign media as critical of Congress. The same image has been earlier used to target Prime Minister Narednra Modi as well.