Many Facebook users are sharing a post with the picture of Sonia Gandhi sitting on the lap of Maldives Ex-President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post
Claim: Sonia Gandhi sat in the lap of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
Fact: The original photo was taken in 2005 when Maumoon Abdul Gayoom met Sonia Gandhi during his visit to India. In the picture, both the leaders were sitting on separate chairs. This image is photoshopped and circulated with FALSE claims.
When the image in the post is run through Google Reverse Image Search, the picture is found in Getty images, a photo library. Below the picture, the description reads, ‘President of the Republic of Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (R) talks with the chairperson of India’s United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government and Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi during a meeting in New Delhi, 29 March 2005. Gayoom is on a six-day visit to India until 01 April, during which he is scheduled to meet with Indian leaders and visit the southern cities of Madras and Trivandrum’. In the image, it can be seen that Sonia Gandhi and Maumoon Abdul Gayoom were sitting in their respective chairs.
To sum it up, Sonia Gandhi wasn’t sitting in the lap of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. It’s an edited photo.
