A photograph of Priyanka Gandhi wearing a cross necklace has once again been shared widely on social media. Several pro-BJP Facebook pages have posted an image, in which two photographs of Priyanka Gandhi are juxtaposed.
In the photograph on the left, Mrs. Gandhi is seen wearing a cross. It has been claimed that the picture was taken in Kerala. In the image on the right, Mrs. Gandhi is sporting a rudraksha necklace. This photo is claimed to be from Uttar Pradesh. The attempt is to highlight the supposed hypocrisy and skullduggery of Priyanka Gandhi.
Posted by मोदीराज on Monday, April 1, 2019
The above post is by the Facebook page Modiraj. Other pages which have shared this juxtaposed image include Mission BJP 2019, Modirun India, Yogi Adityanath Ki Sena and Bhool Mat Jana, Yaad Rakhna.
Photoshopped image
The picture of Priyanka Gandhi wearing a cross, is photoshopped. Alt News had fact-checked the photograph in March 2019 and found that Mrs. Gandhi was actually wearing a pendant, which was replaced with a cross necklace through photoshop. The original photograph was from a rally in Uttar Pradesh in 2017. Alt News’ fact-check can be read here.
The video posted below illustrates how this photoshop was possibly done.
Insofar as the photograph of Gandhi wearing a rudraksha necklace is concerned, through a reverse-image search, Alt News found that the picture is recent- it was during Mrs. Gandhi’s visit to Varanasi in March 2019. The visit had been covered extensively by the media. Posted below is a report by ABP News published on March 20, in which Mrs. Gandhi can be seen wearing the same saree and the rudraksha.
Despite the fact that the photo of Mrs. Gandhi wearing a cross is manipulated, several pro-BJP Facebook pages have posted it.
Independent journalism that speaks truth to power and is free of corporate and political control is possible only when people start contributing towards the same. Please consider donating towards this endeavour to fight fake news and misinformation.
