Fact Check: Edited Photo Of Sonia Gandhi Viral With Fake Claim

New Delhi (Vishvas News). A controversial image of former Congress President Sonia Gandhi is going viral on social media, showing her sitting in an inappropriate position with a person.

Vishvas News investigated the viral post and found it to be fake. The investigation revealed that the image was prepared using editing tools, with no basis in reality, and was intended to tarnish Sonia Gandhi’s reputation.

What is going viral?

On August 9, 2024, Facebook user Shiv Verma shared this image with objectionable comments.

The text accompanying the viral post has been quoted verbatim here. Other users are also sharing it, believing it to be true. You can view the archive link of the viral post here.

Investigation

To verify the authenticity of the viral photo of Sonia Gandhi, Vishwas News first used Google Lens. Our investigation led us to the original photo on Getty Images. The original image clearly shows that the viral photo has been altered.

The caption accompanying the original photo on the Getty Images website states that on March 29, 2005, the then President of Maldives Abdul Gayoom visited India and met with Congress President Sonia Gandhi. The photo, taken by Prakash Singh, captures this meeting. You can view the original photo here.

Vishvas News has already investigated the viral picture earlier also.

During the previous investigation, Vishvas News reached out to Congress spokesperson Akhilesh Pratap Singh, who confirmed that the picture was fake and objectionable. He stated that such acts are carried out by the people of the troll army, who are afraid of the Gandhi family.

Concluding the investigation, we scanned the profile of the user Shiv Verma who disseminated the fake picture of Sonia Gandhi. We discovered that he lives in Hoshiarpur and has more than 5000 followers.