Unrelated images are being shared as visuals of alleged ‘Shivling’ found in the Gyanvapi Mosque - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 18, 2022
Some images are being shared on social media with a claim that they show the alleged ‘Shivling’ which was reportedly found during the recent survey in the Gyanvapi Mosque. The ‘Live Law’ reported – “Varanasi Court Seals Spot In Gyanvapi Mosque Premises Where Advocate Commissioner Reported Finding Of Shiva Linga In Survey”. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photos of the alleged ‘Shivling’ reportedly found during the recent survey in the Gyanvapi Mosque.
Fact: The posted photos are not from the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi (UP). While the ‘Shivling’ photo is from the Baba Bhusandeswar Temple in Odisha, the fountain photo was taken at the Ajmer Sharif dargah in Rajasthan. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
Photo 1:
When the photo was run through Google Reverse Image Search, the photo was found to be related to the Baba Bhusandeswar Temple which is located in Odisha. The other photos of that temple can be seen here, here, and here. So, the posted photo does not show the ‘Shivling’ in the Gyanvapi Mosque.
Photo 2:
The post has been shared saying that the fountain in this Gyanvapi Mosque’s photo is mistaken to be the ‘Shivling’. However, on doing a reverse image search, we found that the posted photo is not related to the Gyanvapi Mosque. On the ‘Alamy’ stock website, the same photo can be seen with the following description – “Ajmer Sharif dargah, Rajasthan. Ablution pool. India.”. While the Gyanvapi Masjid side’s lawyer told NDTV that the object found in the survey is a fountain, not a ‘Shivling’, the posted photo is not related to the Gyanvapi Mosque.
Update (17 MAY 2022):
Photo 3:
Another photo is being also being shared with the claim that it shows a fountain in the Gyanvapi Mosque which is being mistaken to be a ‘Shivling’. However, we found that the photo is not related to the Gyanvapi Mosque. The same visual can be seen in the Google Street View of the ‘Tomb of I’timād-ud-Daulah’, in Agra (Uttar Pradesh).
Photo 4:
This photo is also not related to the Gyanvapi Mosque. In fact, the photo was not even taken in India. It shows a ‘Shivling’ found in Vietnam. Some of the tweets made by Indian Ministers in 2020 regarding the ‘Shivling’ in the photo can be seen here and here.
Reaffirming a civilisational connect.
Monolithic sandstone Shiv Linga of 9th c CE is latest find in ongoing conservation project. Applaud @ASIGoI team for their work at Cham Temple Complex, My Son, #Vietnam. Warmly recall my visit there in 2011. pic.twitter.com/7FHDB6NAxz
Another video is also being shared as related to the Gyanvapi Mosque. While we could not find the exact location of the video, it was found that the video is at least one year old. So, an old video is being shared now in the context of the recent survey in the Gyanvapi Mosque.
Update (18 MAY 2022):
Photo 5:
This photo is also shared with the claim that it shows a fountain in the Gyanvapi Mosque which is being mistaken to be a ‘Shivling’. However, on doing the reverse image search, we found that the posted photo shows the “Ablution pool at the Nakhoda Masjid”. The Nakhoda Mosque is situated in Kolkata (West Bengal). Other similar visuals of the Nakhoda Mosque can be seen here, here, and here.
To sum it up, unrelated images are being falsely shared as visuals of alleged ‘Shivling’ found in the Gyanvapi Mosque.