A post accompanying a set of images of forest fires is being shared across social media platforms claiming these images show the recent forest fires of Uttarakhand. Through this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Images of recent forest fires in Uttarakhand.
Fact: While some of these images represent the ongoing Uttarakhand forest fires, some represent old incidents of Uttarakhand forest fires whereas few images have nothing to do with Uttarakhand. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
Reverse image search of the photo led us to a 2016 Indian Express news article which carried images of forest fires in Himachal Pradesh & Uttarakhand. According to this article, the image shows a forest fire near Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, and the photo is credited PTI.
Reverse image search of this photo led us to a news article by India Today dated 05 April 2021 which published the same image. As per this article, the image shows ‘Forest workers trying to create a barrier to limit fire in a forest in Tehri region in Uttarakhand’, and the article credited PTI as the image source.
Reverse image search of the image in the post led us to a 2011 news article by The Atlantic which carried the same image. As per this article, the image shows a wildfire near Bastrop State Park, Texas back in 2011.
Reverse image search of the image in the post led us to a 2018 news article by The Indian Express which published the same image. As per the article, the image shows the forest fire of Uttarakhand. Although the article did not report the timing of the forest fire, going by the date of the publication of the article, we can infer that the image is not related to a recent forest fire in Uttarakhand.
Reverse image search of the photo led us to a 2019 India Today news article that published the same image. According to this article, the image shows a forest fire in an area bordering Bandipur in Karnataka, the article credited the image to PTI.
Reverse image search of this photo led us to an article by DownToEarth dated 06 January 2021 which published the same image. According to this article, the image shows a forest fire at the Kedarnath wildlife sanctuary.
Reverse image search of this photo led us to a 2018 news article that published the cropped version of the same image. Although the article did not state any particulars about the image, going by the date of publication of the article, we can infer that the image has nothing with the recent forest fires in Uttarakhand.
Reverse image search of these photos yielded few recent social media posts and news articles which shared these images attributing them to the ongoing Uttarakhand forest fires. These social media posts and news articles can be seen here, here , here, and here. However, we could not independently verify the sources of these images.
In view of the ongoing forest fires in Uttarakhand, misleading posts like these are being shared across social media platforms.
To sum it up, some old and unrelated images are being passed off as those of the recent Uttarakhand forest fires.
