Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
Kerala is witnessing a rampant increase of the “human-dog” conflict. While the state has seen multiple instances of stray dogs attacking and killing residents, the culling of canines as a measure to curb growing stray dog menace has triggered uproar among animal lovers.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan recently informed that there have been 21 deaths due to rabies in the state so far this year out of which 15 did not receive anti-rabies vaccine (IDRV) and immunoglobulin (ERIG), one was partially vaccinated and five were fully vaccinated. He, however, added “Stray dog problem cannot be solved by killing the dogs. To overcome this problem, the scientific solution implemented by the government needs the support of the general public. We need to work together to solve this crisis.”
It is in this background that several social media users are sharing disturbing images showing carcesses of dogs lying unattended, calling out the gruesome and immoral killing of the voiceless animals in Kerala. Newschecker found that some of these images are not from the state, while others show visuals of old incidents of culling in Kerala and not recent.
Twitter is flooded with gut-wrenching images of dog carcesses in a rather pitiful situation.
Archived links to such posts can be seen here, here, here, here, here. here and here.
Fact Check/Verification
Newschecker investigated the veracity of the viral images claiming to show dogs’ carcasses in Kerala one by one.
Image 1
A quick Google reverse image search on the viral photograph led us to a report by The Express Tribune, dated June 18, 2018, titled ‘Russia dog cull image was actually shot in Karachi.’ The report carried the viral image with the caption “The carcasses of dead dogs in Karachi, August 4, 2016,” and was credited to Reuters.
Following this, we looked up keywords “Reuters,” “Dead Dogs,”and “Karachi”, and found a report by the news agency, dated August 4, 2016. It also featured the viral image with the caption “The carcasses of dead dogs are collected after they were culled using poison by the municipality in Karachi, Pakistan, August 4, 2016.”
Alamy also featured the viral image showing carcasses of dead dogs in Karachi.
Result: False
Image 2
We looked up the image on TinEye and found another version of the photo featured in Alamy with the caption “A municipal worker unloads the bodies of stray dogs from a garbage truck after they were culled using poison by the municipality in Karachi, Pakistan, August 4, 2016.”
Further Google reverse image search with keywords “Karachi”, “Dogs,” “Municipality worker,” led us to an India Today report, dated August 6, 2016, titled ‘Culling campaign: 700 stray dogs poisoned in Pakistan’s Karachi.’ Displaying the image featured in Alamy, the report stated, “Officials estimate that at least 700 dogs have been poisoned and killed after the number of stray dog attacks in Karachi went up. The dogs were culled using poison tablets hidden in chicken meat.”
On comparing the viral image with the photo featured in India Today report and Alamy, we found them to be the same. The viral image actually shows a cropped version of the original photograph where a municipal worker can be seen loading the carcesses of the deceased animals into a vehicle.
The image was also featured in Reuters and The Express Tribune articles on culling of stray dogs in Karachi in 2016.
Result: False
Image 3
A Google reverse image search on the viral photo led us to a report by Khmer Times, dated September 23, 2016, titled ‘Defending the Underdogs: Vets Criticize Mass Culling.’ Captioned ‘A Pakistani municipal worker drives a truck loaded with stray dog carcasses in Karachi,’ the viral image was credited to AFP.
Furthermore, we found the image on AFP Forum with the caption stating, “In this photograph taken on August 4, 2016, a Pakistani municipal worker drives a truck loaded with stray dog carcasses in Karachi…
Result: False
Image 4
The image featured in a 2016 report by the News Minute, titled ‘Kerala politicians beat street dogs to death, hang them on a pole and take out a parade.’ Elaborating on the gruesome incident, the report stated, “The cadres of the youth wing of the Kerala Congress Mani group beat the dogs to death, tied a few to a pole and paraded them in Kottayam town.They were protesting against the recurrent attacks by stray dogs and Union Minister Maneka Gandhi’s approach towards the stray dog problem in Kerala. The Minister has many a time come down heavily on the state for its poor handling of the menace. “
The viral photograph was captioned, “Gils Periappuram posing with the culled dogs.” The report added, “On 16 September, Gils Periappuram -a Municipality ward councillor of Piravam in Ernakulam, also a Kerala Congress (M) member, was arrested by the police for killing ten stray dogs. He was later given bail. “
Another report by The Hindu, dated September 17, 2016, carried the same image and elaborated on the said incident.
We could thus conclude that though the image relates to an incident of dog culling in Kerala, it is around six years old and not recent.
Result: Missing Context
Image 5
A September 2016 report by India Today featured the viral image with the caption ‘Members of the Kalady panchayat with the killed strays.’ Titled ‘No country for dogs: Shocking pictures of culling of strays emerge in Kerala,’ the article stated, “The dogs were found dead in the Kalady panchayat of Ernakulam on Wednesday. The pictures were taken and forwarded by the animal rights activists in the area.The police have registered a case against 17 members of the panchayat under The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The accused allegedly killed 22 strays in the panchayat.”
2016 reports by Hindustan Times and The News Minute also carried visuals from the above mentioned incident of culling of dogs in Kerala.
The image, though belonging to Kerala, is also six years old and is being shared out of context.
Result: Missing Context
Image 6
A reverse image search on Google led us to a report dated September 27, 2016 by Asianet Newsable. Displaying a slightly cropped version of the viral image, the report stated “The youth wing of Kerala Congress (M) killed, hung at least five stray dogs on a pole and marched to the Kottayam Municipality office.The inhuman act was an attempt to protest against the failure of the authorities to tackle the growing stray dog menace in the town.”
More reports on the incident can be read here and here.
Result: Missing Context
In addition to the above debunked images, a 29-second-long-slideshow of pictures featuring carcasses of stray dogs is also going viral on social media platforms. Several Twitter users shared the video with the caption, “#Kerala: A #dog was brutally kiIIed & hung on a door in #Kottyam. Reportedly more than 20 #dogs have been poisoned in the last few days, in #Kottyam.(sic)”
Archived links to such tweets cab be found here, here, and here
Though the first image in the series is related to a recent incident in Kottayam, we found that several other photographs were either not recent or not from the state.
Fact Check/Verification
We divided the video into different frames with the help of InVid tool and conducted multiple reverse image searches on them. Newschecker found that some of the some of the images used in the video are either not from Kerala or are not recent. The same can be seen as below.
Frame 1
A Google reverse image search led us to reports from 2015 featuring this image. One such report by IB Times, titled ‘Cull of 40,000 dogs in Kerala sparks calls for boycott of southern Indian state, featuring the disturbing photo with the caption “Two men stack dead dogs on a motorcycle in this picture from the anti-cull campaign’s Facebook page.”
We were not independently able to verify the exact location and context of the image, however it does not show any recent incident in the state.
Result: Missing Context
Frame 2
As fact checked above, the photograph is actually from Karachi and not from Kerala.
Result: False
Frame 3 & 4
We found that the images were featured in a 2016 report by The News Minute, titled ‘Kerala dog massacres continue: 40 killed, 15 allegedly slammed to death.’ The report stated that forty stray dogs were brutally killed at Kalady Grama panchayat in Ernakulam district by civic body authorities and the Stray Dog Eradication Group. A case was also registered in this regard.
Result: Missing Context
Frame 5
As proved above, the image is from a 2016 incident in Kerala and not recent.
Result: Missing Context
Frame 6 & 7
These images are related to the incident that took place in 2016 in Kerala. The News Minute report stated, “A day after a 90-year old man died after being attacked by a group of stray dogs at his residence at Varkala in Thiruvananthapuram, locals went on a reckless killing spree by beating 27 strays to death.”
Result: Missing Context
We were not independently able to verify the authenticity of the remaining frames in the slideshow.
Report By The Express Tribune, Dated June 18, 2018
Report By India Today, Dated August 6, 2016
AFP Forum
Report By The News Minute, Dated September 27, 2016
Report By India Today, Dated September 29, 2016
Report By IB Times, Dated July 25, 2015
Report By The News Minute, Dated September 30, 2016
Report By The News Minute, Dated September 27, 2016
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Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
