Fact Check: Picture of Mazar photoshopped to a highway to push FALSE 'Land Jihad' claim
A Twitter user posted a picture which falsely claimed to show a Mazar built on a national highway in India using the hashtag 'Stop Land Jihad'.
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India Today Fact Check
This photo has been digitally manipulated. The original photo DOES NOT include the Mazar.
The hashtag “Stop Land Jihad” has been trending on Twitter for the past few days. Several Twitter accounts have shared photos of public property and land being encroached upon. Among the many tweets under this hashtag, one contained the photo of a Mazar or a Muslim shrine on a highway-like road. The tweet said, "Encroachment Free Railway #StopLandJihad and a philanthropic appeal for blankets for the poor."
Another such post said, “Humans feel cold, not the dead. That's why it is better to lay a sheet on the tomb. Donate a sheet to a needy. A new thinking for the development of the country. Encroachment Free Rail.”
Archives of similar posts can be found here and here.
AFWA’s investigation found that the post was misleading. The picture in the viral post was edited.
AFWA Probe
Using reverse image search, we found a February 2018 Zee Business news report. The image credited to PTI in the report appeared similar to the one currently in circulation. The road appeared exactly the same in both pictures, as did all the passing vehicles and other objects. The 2018 photo, however, did not include the Mazar.
The same picture appeared in a 2016 Indian Express report. Here too, there was no Mazar. Below is a comparison between the image in the media and the image in the viral post.
Several other media outlets used the photo as well, citing PTI as the source. The Goa Transport Department also used the same photo on its website.
This makes it amply clear that the Mazar was digitally added to the photo later.
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