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| - Fact Check: 'PoK'-ing holes in the Tiranga story - Indian flag NOT waved at Pak protests
India Today Fact Check found that the viral image from Rawalakot was edited — the Indian flag was overlaid in the picture. Locals confirmed that the Tricolour wasn't waved during the protests.
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India Today Fact Check
The viral image from Rawalakot was edited to add the Indian flag. The Tricolour was not raised during protests in PoK.
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, or PoK, has been witnessing widespread and violent protests against rising inflation in the country and the Shahbaz Sharif government’s economic policies since May 10. But are protestors going so far as to wave the Indian flag at these rallies to voice their anger against the regime? A photo going viral right now purports to show just that.
An X user claimed: “The Indian flag was hoisted in Rawalkot (POJK), Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, during a protest against the Pakistan Army and Police.” The same photo was shared by many on Instagram and Facebook with similar claims. Their archives can be seen here, here, here, and here.
Indian media outlets like News Nation, Punjab Kesari, and Gujarati Mid-Day also published reports about the Indian flag being raised in PoK during ongoing protests. And outlets like Wion and Siasat Daily used the viral image while reporting about the protests.
India Today Fact Check found that the viral image from Rawalakot was edited — the Indian flag was overlaid digitally. The Indian flag was not waved at the rally in PoK.
Here’s how we reached this conclusion:
CONFIRMING THE PHOTO'S LOCATION
While trying to locate the origin of the viral photo with the Tricolour in it, we discovered that the photo was flipped horizontally. Many X users, responding to the viral posts, also pointed this out while sharing the original photo. Often, images or videos are flipped or laterally inverted to make them harder to reverse-search.
We confirmed that the photo was flipped by closely examining the text visible in it: an autorickshaw had “BAZGAR” written on its back in the original photo. The letters Z and G can be seen laterally inverted in the viral image. A comparison between the two photos can be seen below.
PHOTO LEADS TO BANK ROAD IN POK'S RAWALAKOT
A keyword search in Urdu about the ongoing protests in PoK led us to a Facebook reel from May 12, which contained visuals from multiple demonstrations. The video at the top left corner appeared similar to the viral image. It also featured the text: “Rawalakot Tourism Hotel”. Rawalakot is the capital of the Poonch district in PoK. A comparison between this video and the photo makes it clear this is the same location.
While searching for the Rawalakot Tourism Hotel on Google Maps, we found another nearby hotel called Green Valley located on the same road. On the Google Maps page for this hotel, a user shared a video in 2023. This video further confirms its location as Rawalakot’s Bank Road.
WHEN DID THIS PROTEST TAKE PLACE?
India Today Fact Check spoke to Waqar Khan, the proprietor of the Kashmir General Store at Bank Road in Rawalakot about the viral photo. He said that demonstrations happened in front of his shop on May 10. Khan refuted any claims about the Indian flag being raised during this rally.
We found a May 10 Facebook post and a video uploaded on May 11 covering the same protest. It is important to note that neither had the Indian flag in them, confirming what Waqar Khan told India Today.
NO PAK MEDIA REPORTS ABOUT TIRANGA
Raising the Indian flag during an anti-government protest in PoK would cause the flutter and would surely be covered by the Pakistani media. And while the protests were covered widely by the country’s news outlets, we could not find any mention of the Indian flag. Incidentally, many Pakistani news reports used the original photo (which did not feature the Indian flag).
Additionally, Jabbar Chaudhary, the executive editor of Pakistan-based news outlet Samaa TV told India Today Fact Check: “The image being shared over social media is totally fabricated. The Indian flag was not hoisted in Rawalakot or other parts of PoK. There are ongoing protests in Kashmir, but no one has taken such extreme steps.”
PHOTO FORENSICS REVEALS MANIPULATION
We used the InVid tool to check for manipulation in the viral image. As you can see in the GIF below, the light-green-coloured marks indicate the areas where the photo was doctored. This is exactly where the Indian flag could be seen in the viral image.
This makes it amply clear that the Indian Tricolour was photoshopped into a PoK protest to give it an Indian connection.
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