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| - Fact Check: Droupadi Murmu was digitally added to photo of Mohan Bhagwat, they didn't meet at RSS HQ
A photo of NDA presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has gone viral on social media, with the claim that the two recently met at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur. India Today's AFWA found the photo to be digitally manipulated.
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India Today Fact Check
This photo was digitally manipulated. Photos of Murmu and Bhagwat from separate events were edited into one. There are no recent reports of Murmu meeting Bhagwat.
A photo of the National Democratic Alliance presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat has been widely shared on social media with the claim that the two recently met at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur. In the photo, Murmu and Bhagwat could be seen praying.
The archived versions of similar posts can be seen here and here.
AFWA’s investigation found that the image in question was photoshopped. There are also no recent reports on Murmu meeting Bhagwat. Incidentally, lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan tweeted the photo and later issued a clarification after deleting the original post.
AFWA Probe
A reverse search of the viral image on the Russian search engine Yandex led us to an ANI report from March 11.
The report titled, “RSS annual meet to deliberate on expansion plans begins in Gujarat,” included the original version of the photo of Bhagwat seen in the viral post. In this photo, instead of Murmu, RSS secretary Dattatreya Hosabale could be seen standing behind Bhagwat.
The same image was tweeted by the official Twitter handle of the RSS. As per this tweet, it was taken at the RSS’s All India Pratinidhi Sabha, held on May 11 at Karnavati, Gujarat.
We found the original photo of Murmu in a BBC News Hindi report from June 23. In the original photo, Murmu was seen with Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
Soren had originally shared the same photo from his official Twitter account on December 29, 2020.
Finally, we couldn't find any recent reports that suggested Murmu met Bhagwat at the RSS headquarters. It is hence clear that the photo featuring Murmu and Bhagwat was digitally created using two separate photos of them.
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