Update (19 December 2022):
Another photo of a toddler-sized Ganapati is being shared on social media through a post. ‘..Vinayaka is born again,’ the post description reads. Let’s fact-check this claim through his article.
Claim: Picture of Lord Vinayaka, who is born again.
Fact: The viral photo is of a Lord Vinayaka’s idol, which was displayed in Maharashtra’s Ekta Ganesh Utsav Mandal in 2017. The photos of the original idol are available on their Facebook page and also on the website of Ganapati.tv, which conducts an annual contest for best home Ganapati decorations. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We ran a reverse image search on Google and found the same photo on a website known as Ganapati.tv, which, according to them, is ‘India’s first website organising a contest each year to award certificates for Best Home Ganapati Decoration Contest.’ The photo is available under the category of Ganesh festival 2017 pictures of Ekta Ganesh Utsav Mandal. You can also see their participation certificate here.
We looked for the social media profiles of Ekta Ganesh Utsav Mandal and found their Facebook page on which the original images of the Toddler Ganesha were uploaded. They even uploaded a video of the same idol, which can be seen here. With all this evidence, it is clear that the image shared in the post is of a Ganesh idol.
Published (22 March 2021):
A post accompanying an image of a newborn baby with a small trunk-like nose and bristled hair is being widely shared across social media platforms with a claim that the image actually shows a newborn with a face resembling Hindu God Lord Ganesha. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Image of a newborn baby with a face resembling Hindu God Lord Ganesha.
Fact: The image actually shows the artwork of Australian artist Patricia Piccinini. This particular artwork of a newborn baby with a small trunk-like nose was actually created in 2010 which depicts unsettling mutations of human and animal forms. This Artwork depicting mutations of human and animal form is misconstrued as a baby born with a face resembling Hindu God Lord Ganesha. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Reverse image search of the photo in the post led us to a news article by The Guardian dated 06 October 2017 which published an image similar to the one in the post. According to the article, the image actually shows an artwork titled Newborn, depicting an unsettling mutation of human and animal form by Australian artist Patricia Piccinini which she created using silicone, fibre, steel, human hair, and possum pelt.
Taking a cue from the article, further search led us to official website of Patricia Piccinini which showcases her numerous artworks. On this website, the image of a newborn with a small trunk same as the one in the post is catalogued under the 2010 artworks. This establishes that artwork depicting mutations of human and animal form is misconstrued as a baby born with a face resembling Hindu God Lord Ganesha
To sum it up, image of an artwork depicting mutations of human and animal form is passed off as a baby born with a face resembling Hindu God Lord Ganesha.
