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
Pakistani flag raised during a Shiv Sena (UBT) rally in Chembur, Mumbai.
The archived version of the tweet can be seen here. We also received this claim on our Whatsapp tipline (9999499044) requesting us to fact-check it.
Fact
The claims stated that it was Shiv Sena’s (UBT) Mumbai South Central candidate Anil Desai’s rally in Chembur, following which we ran a relevant keyword search that led us to Instagram posts from Desai, seen here and here, confirming that a roadshow did take place in Chembur on May 14, 2024, ahead of the elections on May 20, 2024. Taking a cue from this and the flyover, hoardings seen in the viral video, we also found the location of the rally on Google Maps.
Newschecker then ran a keyword search for “Shiv Sena Pakistani flag Anil Desai rally”, which did not lead us to any credible news reports about such an incident during the roadshow. We noticed that the flag in the viral video (left) did not have the distinct white strip of the Pakistan flag (right). The flag seen in the video has a white crescent and star in the middle, surrounded by small white stars, similar to the Islamic flags raised during Eid processions, thus contradicting the viral claim.
Also Read: Viral Video Of Night-Vision Search Ops Is Not Related To Iran President’s Chopper Crash
Result: False
Sources
Image analysis
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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.
