| schema:text
| - Fact Check: Does the new Australian PM support Vishwa Hindu Parishad? Viral photo doesn't tell the whole story
A photo of new Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wearing a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) scarf has gone viral on social media. Read on to find out if he truly supports the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
Listen to Story
India Today Fact Check
This photo was taken on May 7 when Labour Party leaders, including Albanese, visited the Hindu Council of Australia and donned the VHP scarf. Former PM Scott Morrison had also visited the Hindu Council and donned the scarf as part of the election campaign.
Anthony Albanese of the Labour Party was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Australia after defeating the Liberal Party of Australia’s Scott Morrison in an election held on May 21.
Following Albanese’s victory, a collage of two photos was shared on social media along with the claim that the new Australian PM showed his support for the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) by wearing its scarf after assuming office.
The first image was a screenshot of journalist Rana Ayyub’s tweet that said, “Breathe Australia,” followed by the heart emoji. The text under the screenshot said, “Rana Ayyub celebrating regime change in Australia since previous Govt. islamophobic for her”.
The second photo showed Albanese donning a saffron-coloured scarf alongside a boy and the text under it read, “Meanwhile new PM of Australia is wearing scarf of VHP”.
The India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) found that while the photo did show Albanese donning a VHP scarf, it was taken on May 7 when Labour Party leaders visited the Hindu Council of Australia. If fact, even former PM Scott Morrison also visited the Hindu Council on a separate occasion and donned the scarf as part of the election campaign.
The viral posts are archived here and here.
AFWA Probe
During his election campaign, Albanese, along with other Labour Party leaders, visited the Hindu Council of Australia on May 7. On the same day, he shared the viral image along with more photos from the same event on his Twitter with the caption, “A warm reception in Parramatta tonight with leaders from the Hindu faith and subcontinental communities.”
Albanese tweeted a couple of more photos, thanking the Hindu Council of Australia. Albanese did indeed wear a scarf with Vishwa Hindu Parishad written on it during the event.
A warm reception in Parramatta tonight with leaders from the Hindu faith and subcontinental communities. pic.twitter.com/6m79gzXhDz — Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) May 6, 2022
The Hindu Council of Australia also tweeted about the same event on May 7 from its official account and shared a link to a video of the Q and A session with Labour Party leaders.
However, the Labour Party leaders and the new Prime Minister of Australia were not the only ones who attended and wore such a scarf. Former Australian PM and other leaders of the Liberal Party of Australia also visited the Hindu Council of Australia for an election campaign event.
Morrison’s visit on May 14 was also reported by the Australian media. In fact, both leaders, Morrison and Albanese, were criticised by the international media for donning a VHP scarf during their election campaigns.
Australian news network ABC News published an article with the headline “Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese pictured wearing scarves bearing symbol used by Hindu ultra-nationalist group VHP India.”
The Guardian also published an article on May 14 along with photos of both leaders from the events, noting, “...as the pictures show, neither Liberal nor Labor leaders saw any problem donning the scarves.”
So, it is clear that while Albanese did wear a VHP scarf, it was only as part of an election campaign event — something that his opponent did as well.
Please share it on our at 73 7000 7000
You can also send us an email at factcheck@intoday.com
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)