Amid the ongoing diplomatic tensions between India and Canada over the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a viral photo appears to show BJP supporters protesting outside a Canara Bank branch. Social media users on X and Facebook have mocked the protesters for targeting a bank to express discontent with Canada.
One of the Facebook posts reads: “Andh Bhakts protesting against Canada in front of Canara Bank”.
Here is the link to the above post. (Archive)
FACT CHECK
Newsmobile fact-checked the photo, and found it to be digitally altered.
Closely examined the viral image, the NM team identified discolouration around the purported Canara Bank signage, indicating possible digital manipulation. The hoarding also appeared superimposed over an original Xiaomi board. Additionally, the phrase “Head Office” at the bottom of the hoarding prompted us to compare Google Street View images of the actual Canara Bank head office with the viral photo. The comparison revealed no similarities between the two locations. You can view comparable images for verification here and here.
Moreover, an X post from September 2023 featured a similar image but without the Canara Bank signage, further raising suspicions about the viral image’s authenticity.
கனடா நாட்டை எதிர்த்து கனரா வங்கி முன் போராட்டம் நடத்திய சங்கிகளுக்கு அடிஉதை. pic.twitter.com/Gq27hOFOho
— VISWA (@Vis1976al) September 23, 2023
Searching for the viral image using Google Lens, we identified a report by Maalaimalar, dated August 30, 2020. This original photo did not include the Canara Bank hoarding, which indicated that BJP workers in Ooty had allegedly erected a flagpole to display their party flag on municipal land without obtaining prior permission. Following a complaint, the flagpole was removed, which resulted in protests by the BJP workers.
A comparison of the viral image with the one in the 2020 Maalaimalar report led us to conclude that the former had been digitally altered. The original photo does not feature any bank hoarding at the protest site.
Thus, we can conclusively say that the image from 2020 has been digitally manipulated by inserting a Canara Bank hoarding to falsely claim that BJP supporters protested against Canada outside a branch of the bank.
