Authors
An image of Arvind Kejriwal putting a mask on a young boy is being circulated on social media platforms. Deputy CM Manish Sisodia can be seen standing next to him. The catch here—both the leaders aren’t wearing masks themselves.
This image is being circulated amid a surge in the active COVID-19 cases in multiple states across India. With 14,589 active cases as of 6 April, Delhi has issued a night curfew timings from 10pm to 5am till 30 April to help curb case rises.
Former Mayor of Nagpur Mahanagar Palika, Sandip Joshi, shared this image of Delhi’s chief minister Kejriwal with the caption, “Three without mask scholars are teaching children to wear masks.”
A Twitter user also shared this image with the caption, “Three wise men without mask teaching a kid how to wear a mask @ArvindKejriwal @msisodia @CPDelhi why is kejriwal not arrested for putting the life of this kid at risk of #ChinaVirus along with two others. And why sisodia not arrested too along with 3rd person”
BJP Spokesperson Harish Khurana tweeted the image on 4 April writing, “बच्चे को तो मास्क पहना रहे हो लेकिन ख़ुद का और अपने @msisodia का मास्क कहा है।फ़ोटो ओप के लिए लिए क्या क्या करते हो @ArvindKejriwal जी। तभी तो हम कहते है विज्ञापन वाला @CMODelhi”
Translated from Hindi to English, Khurana’s tweet reads, “The child is wearing a mask but his own and his @msisodia Where is the mask of. What do you do for photo ops @ArvindKejriwal Yes.That is why we say that the advertiser @CMODelhi.”
An archived version of the video clip can be viewed here.
Fact Check / Verification
We did a Google reverse image search of Kejriwal’s image. This led us to a November 2019 article by The Print titled, “Write to Captain uncle, Khattar uncle about Delhi’s air pollution: CM Kejriwal tells school children.”
Attributed to PTI, the article includes Kejriwal’s image with the caption, “Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal distributes masks in schools.” The article details how “Kejriwal distributed masks to school children as part of the government’s initiative to protect them from pollution and also explained children about stubble burning.”
With the overall air quality index touching a high of 459 in Delhi at the time, “Delhi government procured 50 lakh N95 masks for distribution among children in private and government schools.”
A same photograph was published by India Today in their 1st November 2019 article titled, “Don’t blame people of Delhi for air pollution, blame stubble burning: Kejriwal.”
A Twitter user shared this image back in November 2019 as well with hashtags #DelhiAirEmergency #DelhiPollution.
Conclusion
An old image of Arvind Kejriwal and his Deputy Manish Sisodia shared amid ongoing pandemic to imply that their flouting COVID-19 appropriate norms.
Result: Misplaced Context
Our Sources
India Today: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/delhi-air-pollution-kejriwal-says-blame-stubble-burning-1614862-2019-11-01
2019 Twitter post: https://twitter.com/tw_dcp/status/1190908336910295041?lang=en
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