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| - Fact Check: This is not the teacher who was beheaded in Paris over Prophet cartoon
A picture of some youths holding "Refugees Welcome" placards is circulating on social media with the claim that one among them is the French teacher Samuel Paty, whose beheaded body was found in the streets of Paris last week. However, the man in the viral picture is not Paty.
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India Today Fact Check
The man in the picture is not Paty. The French teacher was killed in Paris on October 16, but the picture was taken in Kent, UK. It was posted by an organisation named “Good Chance” a day after Paty’s death.
A picture of some youths holding “Refugees Welcome” placards is circulating on social media with the claim that one among them is the French teacher Samuel Paty, whose beheaded body was found in the streets of Paris last week.
Paty was reportedly murdered by a man screaming “Allahu Akbar” after he showed cartoons on Prophet Muhammad in one of his classes.
BJP’s Major Surendra Poonia tweeted the picture along with a caption in Hindi which translates to, “The man in the middle is the teacher who was beheaded in Paris a few days back. Some years ago, he was seen welcoming refugees in France. Little did he know that one day they’ll behead him. This is a message for those liberals in India who want to settle Rohingya refugees here.”
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the man in the viral picture is not Paty. The French teacher was killed in Paris on October 16, but the picture was taken in Kent, United Kingdom. It was posted by an organisation called “Good Chance” a day after Paty’s death.
Several Facebook users have also posted the picture with the same claim. The archived versions can be seen here, here and here.
Tracing the viral picture
Using reverse image search, we found that the viral image was posted by Twitter user “Good Chance” on October 17. The tweet reads, “Today the Good Chance team are in Folkestone to #WelcomeRefugees. The people of Kent are out in force at the Napier Barracks to let people know that they are WELCOME.”
Today the Good Chance team are in Folkestone to #WelcomeRefugees. The people of Kent are out in force at the Napier Barracks to let people know that they are WELCOME @_KRAN_ pic.twitter.com/Q9EbiR2YNQ — Good Chance (@GoodChanceCal) October 17, 2020
Using keywords from the tweet, we found that the event was covered by several news websites in the UK on the same day.
According to these reports, hundreds of people gathered in the streets of Folkestone on October 17 to welcome refugees. The asylum seekers were housed at Napier Barracks following their arrival in the country.
As per the website of “Good Chance”, which had originally posted the picture, it is an organisation for art and theatre in London. They participate in various welfare activities for refugees through their performances.
We also found “Good Chance” written on the placards in the viral image.
Why the viral claim is misleading
The viral claim made by Major Surendra Poonia and others is wrong on several counts. According to the claim, the picture was taken a few years ago. But one can easily make out from the masks put on by protesters that the event was held during the pandemic.
Paty was beheaded by 18-year-old Chechen Abdullakh Anzorov in Paris on October 16. But the gathering welcoming refugees was held in Kent the following day.
The viral claim says the teacher was welcoming refugees in France. But the English placards and “Kent Police” seen in the background suggest it was not France.
Comparing the picture of Paty, as published in “BBC News”, with the man in the viral picture, we found there is hardly any similarity in their looks.
Picture of Samuel Paty
Man in viral image
We could not get any detail or the identity of the man in the viral picture. We have contacted “Good Chance” and will update the story once we get a response.
From the timeline of the incident in France and the gathering in UK, and comparing the photos of the French teacher with the man in the viral picture, we can surely say that the viral claim is wrong. The man seen in the viral picture is not the French teacher who was murdered in Paris.
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