Amidst the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, a photo of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi holding a portrait of Hindu deity Lord Ram along with other people is being widely shared across social media platforms (here, here, & here). The post claims that sensing his defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Owaisi is seeking support from Hinduism.
Claim: Photo of AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi holding a portrait of Lord Ram after sensing defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Fact: This viral photo showing Asaduddin Owaisi holding a portrait of Lord Ram is morphed. In the original picture posted on Asaduddin Owaisi’s official Facebook page on 07 April 2018, Owaisi is holding a portrait of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, not Lord Ram. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
To verify the authenticity of the viral image, we conducted a Google reverse image search. This search led us to a similar photo (archived link) posted on Asaduddin Owaisi’s official Facebook page on 07 April 2018, with the caption: “Dalits from Mochi Colony met #AIMIM President Barrister Asaduddin Owaisi at AIMIM party headquarters #Darussalam and thanked him for undertaking development activities in their area (Ramnaspura division, Bahadurpura Constituency).” In this photo, Owaisi is holding a portrait of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, not Lord Ram. The same people are seen standing with Owaisi in both photos.
Below is a comparison of the viral image with the original image. From this, it is evident that the original photo was morphed and shared to spread misinformation.
Factly debunked various claims related to AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi that went viral in the context of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections (here, and here).
To sum up, this photo showing AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi holding a portrait of Lord Ram is morphed.
