Image from 2013 Allahabad Kumbh Mela is passed off as that from the farmers' protests - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 11, 2021
A post accompanying an image showing the aerial view of hundreds of tents in an open area is being widely shared across social media platforms with a claim that the image shows tents set up at Singhu border by the farmers protesting over the new farm legislation. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Image showing hundreds of tents in an open area by farmers protesting against the new farm legislation.
Fact: The image actually shows the aerial view of hundreds of tents stretched out during the Kumbh Mela which was held in Allahabad (Prayagraj) back in 2013. This image has nothing to do with the ongoing farmer’s protest. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Reverse image search of the photo in the post led us to a blog which carried the same image. According to this blog, the image shows a view of Maha Kumbh Mela which was held at Prayagraj (Allahabad) back in 2013.
Further the EXIF info details of the image published in the blog shows that the image was originally clicked on 08 February 2013, and as per the info the images is described as ‘Kumbh Mela 2013’.
Taking a cue from the blog, Google search with relevant keywords led us to a stock image on Alamy which is similar to the one in the post. The stock image shows the same site of tents as shown in the post but from a different angle and at different time. We can spot many similarities on comparison of both these images. According to the description of the stock image, the photograph was clicked on 08 February 2013 at Allahabad (Prayagraj). The caption of the image reads ‘Tents/landscape during Maha Kumbh Mela 2013 in Allahabad, India’. From all these, it is evident that the image in the post shows a campsite from the Kumbh Mela which was held in Allahabad back in 2013 and the image is no way related to the ongoing farmers’ protest.
Although farmers protesting over new farm legislations have stretched out tents at Singhu border, the image in the post does not show those from the Singhu border. In the light of the ongoing farmers’ protests against the newly enacted farm legislation, posts like these are being circulated with misleading claims.
To sum it up, image from 2013 Allahabad Kumbh Mela is falsely passed off as that from the farmers protests.