Authors
Vaibhav is a part of Newschecker’s English team, where he spots and debunks all kinds of misinformation, making the rounds on the internet. A Journalism graduate from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, he holds an M.A degree in Philosophy and an M.Phil from Delhi University.
(The article was originally published in Newschecker Hindi)
Since the onset of monsoon, pictures of dilapidated roads in many parts of the country are going viral, provoking outrage from social media users. One specific image showing a broken section of the road having separated from the path it was laid out on is currently going viral. Those sharing the image claim it to be from somewhere in India. It appears as though a section of the road was removed and placed next to it. Newschecker found these claims to be untrue.
Rama Suganthan, Vice President of the Tamil Nadu Congress, tweeted this image from a verified account challenging PM Modi’s “Gujarat model” by referring to the image as being from Gujarat. The image has been shared along with the caption ‘This is #Modi’s much hyped #GujaratModel. And to think gujaratis vote #BJP for over 20 years in a stretch!! They certainly deserve such “development”
The archived version of the tweet can be seen here.
Also Read: Man Seen In Front Of Auto In Viral Photo Is Not Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde
Fact Check /Verification
We started our investigation by conducting a reverse image search on Google and found a report by a Thai media website named Thansettakij dated 4th September, 2019. According to the report, the image of the broken road was taken in Chanuman district of Amnat Charoen province of Thailand.
According to the report the road broke after heavy rainfall in 2019 and concerned agencies were instructed to investigate the matter.
The incident was also reported by another Thai media website, News1Live, which also described the incident to be from Chanuman district of Thailand.
Upon further investigation, Newschecker found a Facebook post from a user from Thailand who had posted pictures of the broken road on 31st August, 2019. This image gained notoriety in Thailand following this post which led to the local government and administration being subjected to harsh criticism.
The Facebook post is available here.
According to a report by media website Thai PBS, the road was constructed in accordance with the norms, but have also stated that the impact of the flood was so great that the road was unable to withstand it.
Conclusion
Newschecker’s investigation reveals that an image of a dilapidated road in Thailand clicked in 2019 is being falsely shared claiming the incident to be a recent one from India
Result: False
Our Sources
Report of Thai News Website Thansettakij , published on September 4, 2019
Report of Thai News Website News1Live , published on September 1, 2019
Facebook post of August 31, 2019
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Authors
Vaibhav is a part of Newschecker’s English team, where he spots and debunks all kinds of misinformation, making the rounds on the internet. A Journalism graduate from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, he holds an M.A degree in Philosophy and an M.Phil from Delhi University.
