Visuals of Indian opposition leader 'posing with YouTuber detained for spying' are altered
"What a strange coincidence that every traitor and anti-national is seen with Rahul Gandhi!" it says. "Is Rahul Gandhi the mastermind behind the turmoil in the country?"
The post surfaced after Indian authorities accused Malhotra and ten other people of leaking military information to Pakistan (archived link).
The nuclear-armed foes agreed to a ceasefire on May 10, ending four days of intense fighting that claimed over 70 lives on both sides (archived link).
Fighting erupted two weeks after an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir killed 26 people, which India blamed on Pakistan but denied by Islamabad.
The image was shared with similar claims elsewhere on Facebook, X and Threads, with comments showing some users believed it was genuine.
"I have noticed one thing ... wherever treason is mentioned, Congress is mentioned too," one comment said.
Another wrote, "Congress headquarters is a training centre for traitors."
But a reverse image search on Google revealed the images had been altered.
State lawmaker Aditi Singh shared the first picture on Facebook on December 16, 2017 when she was a member of the Congress party before joining the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2021 (archived link).
The photo's caption reads, "Many congratulations and best wishes to Honourable Rahul Gandhi. Jai Hind!"
Another search reveals Gandhi published the original of the second photo on his Facebook page on September 18, 2022 when he travelled across India as part of his Bharat Jodo Yatra campaign (archived here and here).
It shows him posing for a picture with a person different from that seen in the false post.
AFP has debunked a series of false claims about the India-Pakistan conflict here.
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