Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Burj Khalifa displayed the image of Lord Ram on the occasion of the Ram Mandir consecration in Ayodhya on January 22, 2024.
The archived version of the tweet can be seen here.
Fact
Newshecker first ran a keyword search for “Lord Ram Burj Khalifa”, which did not throw up any credible news reports of such a light display on January 22. We looked up the Instagram account of the Burj Khalifa, which did not mention any such light show.
A relevant search led us to this Instagram post by actor Dulquer Salman, November 5, 2021, where he announces that #Kurup will be the first Malayalam film to have a trailer played on the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. A comparison of the two images indicates that a screengrab from the Instagram video (left) was edited to make it look like an image of Lord Ram was projected onto the skyscraper.
A further search led us to this article published on a Colorado-based food blogger’s website, Julia’s Album, dated October 22, 2019, headlined “Best 12 Things To Do In Dubai”, featuring a clearer photo of Burj Khalifa at night. A comparison of the two images proves that the photo in the article was digitally altered to make it look like an image of Lord Ram was projected onto the skyscraper.
Newschecker had earlier debunked a claim on April 3, 2023, that an image of Lord Ram was projected onto Burj Khalifa on occasion of Ram Navami. It was found that a stock photo was digitally altered.
[CORRECTION: This article was revised on 23/01/2024 to include new evidence based on subsequent research.]
Result: Altered Media
Source
Instagram post, Dulquer Salman, November 5, 2021
Best 12 Things To Do In Dubai, Julia’s Album, October 22, 2019
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
