A black-and-white photograph of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi holding a cigarette is extensively circulating on social media.
The image is shared on Facebook with a caption: पहचानने वाले को 8500 मिलेंगे खटा खट टका टक
Here’s the link to the above post. (Archive)
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim, and found it to be FALSE.
Upon closer examination, the NM team noticed a watermark in the bottom left corner of the viral image, which reads: “Remaker”. A Google search revealed that Remaker is an AI creative content generator that allows users to swap faces in images and videos, suggesting that the viral image has been digitally manipulated.
Conducting a Reverse Image Search of the viral photo, the NM team identified a post shared on Tumblr in February 2013. The post featured an image identical to the viral one, but the woman in the photo did not appear to be Sonia Gandhi. The caption identified the woman as “Ghazale” and credited the photograph to Farzad Sarfarazi, taken in 2012. The original image also featured a copyright mark of the photographer in the bottom right corner.
Given below is the comparison between the viral and original images. This image has been shared multiple times, always attributed to Farzad Sarfarazi.
Thus, it is evident from the above information that the viral image of Sonia Gandhi holding a cigarette is morphed.
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