Morphed image used in support of PM Modi, now used against Muslim community

A photograph of a Muslim woman holding a placard that reads, “Shia and Sunni could never become brothers within the Muslim community and some foolish Hindus say Muslims and Hindus are brothers.” Twitter user @arpitahindu was among those who circulated the image.

(Translated from: मुसलमानों में आज तक “शिया और सुन्नी” भाई बहन नहीं हो पाए…! और कुछ मुर्ख हिन्दू कहते हैं हिन्दू-मुस्लिम भाई-भाई.)

Please forward this to Liberandus #हिंदुस्तान_जिंदाबाद pic.twitter.com/OdsS6AO7zf

— Arpita Chatterjee #CBIForPalghar (@arpitahindu) November 23, 2020

The same picture was also widespread in 2019 however the placard read differently — “If Modi wanted to fill his own pockets, he would have done that during his 13 years term as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. He loves his country and not his position. (Modi को अपना घर भरना होता तो वह 13 साल गुजरात का CM रह कर भर लेता| उसे कुर्सी से नहीं, सिर्फ अपने देश से प्रेम है).” The undertone of the message attempted to portray a Muslim woman is vouching for PM Modi.

A post by a Facebook user named Elvis Babu raked up more than 5,000 shares.

The post was also viral on WhatsApp.

Alt News found that the text inscribed on the placard was viral on Facebook and Twitter at least since December 2017.

Photoshopped image

A Google reverse image search revealed that the text written on the placard was photoshopped with a message in support of PM Modi, and now against the Muslim community. In the original image, the text reads, “I’m a Muslim but I’m not Arab.”

According to a blog post, the above image is part of a campaign organised by the Islamic students’ association of the University of Mary Washington, USA against stereotyping and racial judgement. It was also debunked by AFP Fact Check.