Posts depicting several people holding green flags on the streets are circulating on social media (here, here and here), with the claim that Pakistani flags were waved at a rally supporting Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad. Let’s verify the claims made in these posts.
Claim: The Video shows Pakistani Flags being raised in Wayanad in support of Rahul Gandhi.
Fact: The viral video showed slogans supporting Rajmohan Unnithan, the Congress candidate in Kasaragod, Kerala during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The New Indian Express published an article featuring the viral footage from a roadshow in 2019 after Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination papers in Wayanad. Moreover, the flags held in the viral posts are the flags of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and not Pakistan. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
On performing reverse image search using the keyframes of the video, we found that this video was shared in 2019 by an unverified channel (archived) claiming it to be from 2019 IUML.
Further, on closer observation of the flag held in the viral posts, we found that it differs from the Pakistan Flag. We found that it is the official flag of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a political party from Kerala. A comparison between both can be seen below. IUML is a Kerala-based party and is a member of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). It is part of the I.N.D.I.A bloc at the national level.
The viral video featuring slogans in support of Rajmohan Unnithan, the Congress candidate in Kasaragod, Kerala in 2019, was previously debunked by The Quint in the same year. Moreover, on the reverse image search of the other viral post, we found that The New Indian Express published an article featuring the same image on 5 April 2019 indicating that the image was clicked during a roadshow in 2019 after Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination papers in Wayanad for the Lok Sabha elections. In the latest rally, Congress did not display any flags (here and here).
To sum up, old and false Claims of Pakistan flags at the Congress rally in Wayanad are shared again in the wake of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
