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.
The Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra is currently passing through the Congress-ruled Rajasthan. Visuals showing huge crowds following Gandhi on streets are flooding social media platforms. One such photo showing an aerial view of a large gathering in an open field is also going viral. Those who shared the image claimed that it showed visuals from the Rajasthan leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Newschecker found the claim to be untrue. Neither is the photo from Rajasthan, nor does it show visuals from Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Several Twitter users shared the photo claiming to show the “Grand Welcome” given to Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Rajasthan.
Archived versions of such tweets can be seen here, here, here and here.
Also Read: Bharat Jodo Yatra: Old Image From Nigeria Shared As Congress’ Mega Rally In Ballari
Fact Check/Verification
We began our investigation by scanning through the comment sections of various posts that shared the viral photo. We found a comment by @ashirvadShri in reply to a post by user @sultan_bharat, suggesting that the viral photo was from a programme organised on December 3 at ‘Jaigurudev Ashram’ in Mathura.
Taking a clue, we conducted a keyword search for “Jaigurudev Ashram,” “Mathura” & “December 3” on Google. This led us to a post shared by the Facebook page of Jaigurudev Ashram Mathura on December 3, 2022.
Featuring over ten photos, the post was captioned in Hindi, “Jaigurudev 3 Dec 2022, Jaigurudev Ashram Mathura. A huge crowd of devotees gathered for Pujya Dada Guru Maharaj’s bhandara.”
On comparing the photos featured in the Facebook post with the viral image, we spotted several similarities, including the car shed and composition of the crowd, prompting us to conclude that the visuals were from the same event. The same can be seen below.
Following this, we conducted a keyword search for “जयगुरुदेव आश्रम मथुरा,” “पूज्य दादा गुरु,” & “भंडारे” on Facebook which yielded a post by Pankaj maharaj, the Official Page of Jaigurudev Ashram Mathura, dated December 3, 2022.
The post featured over 45 photos from a program at Jaigurudev Ashram in Mathura, including the photo widely shared to show the crowd at Bharat Jodo Yatra in Rajasthan.
Further, a comparison between the Google Street View of Jai Gurudev Ashram, Mathura and the images posted on Facebook led us to conclude that visuals are actually from the UP city, and not Rajasthan as widely claimed.
The official website of the Jai Gurudev Ashram also mentioned about the ‘Annual Satsang Program, Mathura Bhandara from 1 to 5 December 2022.’ Additionally, we found that the December 3 programme was live streamed on the YouTube channel of J.K.M. BABA JAIGURUDEV Ashram Mathura. The same can be seen here.
Conclusion
We could thus conclude that the widely circulated image showing the aerial view of a large crowd gathered in an open field is actually from a religious event at Jai Gurudev Ashram in Mathura, and not Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra being welcomed in Rajasthan.
Result: False
Sources
Tweet By @ashirvadShri, Dated December 8, 2022
Facebook Post By @JaigurudevAshramMTR, Dated December 3, 2022
Google Street View
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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.
