With the coronavirus situation worsening every day, crematoriums and graveyards across the country are struggling with the burgeoning load of dead bodies of COVID-19 patients.
In the midst of this, a picture of a cremation ground is being shared on social media, linking it with the current situation.
The users are sharing the picture with multiple captions. One such caption read, ” मोदी जी “श्मशान”में भी रैली कर लो न वहाँ भी आजकल भीड़ बहुत है।”
(Translation: Modi Ji, do a rally in the ‘crematorium’ too. There is a lot of crowds there too)
Here’s the link to the above post.
More posts can be seen here, here, here and here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact checked the post and found the post to be misleading.
A simple Reverse Image Search on the picture led us to multiple articles from 2018, where the same picture was shared.
Amar Ujala published the same article in a 2018 story about Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi. Manikarnika Ghat is considered one of the holiest cremation grounds among the sacred riverfronts, alongside the river Ganga, in the city of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
A report by Patrika from 2018 also carried the same image.
Based on the above stories, we ran a keyword search along with the reverse image and found that the same picture was uploaded on a website in 2017.
We also found the same picture in a 2012 blog post. “Banaras (Varanasi) The Most Ancient City of the World and still Alive (Manikarnika Ghat of Varanasi),” the headline of the post read.
This shows that the picture has been in circulation for over 9 years.
However, we also found multiple reports on how crematoriums are struggling as COVID-19 deaths spike across India. The reports can be seen here, here and here.
Hence, from the above fact check, it is clear that the picture in circulation is OLD and the post is misleading.
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