A post accompanying an image of a crematorium that shows dead bodies being burnt in huge numbers is being shared across social media platforms with a claim that the image shows a cremation ground in Gujarat. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Image of a crematorium in Gujarat which shows the burning of dead bodies in large numbers.
Fact: The image actually shows a crematorium in Bhopal. Multiple news agencies published the image of the same crematorium attributing it to Bhopal. The image has nothing to do with Gujarat. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
Reverse image search of the photo in the post led us to a Hindi regional news article dated 13 April 2021 which published the same image. This article which reports about the spike in COVID-19 cases and deaths due to COVID-19 shared the same image as in the post.
Taking a cue from the above new article, Google search with relevant keywords led us to multiple news articles and news videos that showed the same cremation ground, though not the exact image as in the post. In one such news article by NDTV which reported about COVID-19 related deaths and the Madhya Pradesh government hiding the actual number of COVID-19 related deaths published the image of a crematorium similar to the one in the post. According to this article, it’s a crematorium in Bhopal. By comparing the image in the news article with that of the one in the post, we can find many similarities which confirms that it’s a crematorium in Bhopal.
Free Press Journal also published the images of the same crematorium in its articles attributing them to Bhopal, these articles can be read here and here. Another news article which shared the image of the same crematorium attributing them to Bhopal can be read here.
A digitally edited version of the same image of the crematorium with a billboard of Narendra Modi is also doing rounds on the internet.
In view of news reports about increase in cases and deaths due to COVID-19 in Gujarat, posts like these are being shared across social media platforms with misleading claims.
To sum it up, image of a crematorium in Bhopal is being shared as that of a crematorium from Gujarat amidst the surge in COVID-19 cases.
