2018 Image From UP Shared as Namaz Offered in TN Amid Lockdown

The image is from Uttar Pradesh’s Allahabad when Muslims offered night prayers during the then month of Ramzan.

A 2018 image from Uttar Pradesh’s Allahabad was shared to propagate the false claim that several people offered namaz in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore amid the ongoing coronavirus lockdown.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A viral image on social media claims that as many as 700 people offered prayers at a mosque in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore district, flouting coronavirus lockdown norms.

However, we found that it is an Alamy image and dates back to 17 May 2018. The description shared along with the image mentioned that it is from Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, when Muslims offered night prayers during the the month of Ramzan.

Tirupathur Police also tweeted calling the claim being shared along with the viral image false.

You can view the archived version here.(Source: Facebook/ Screenshot)

CLAIM

The image is being shared with both claims in Tamil as well as English. A Facebook user Vijay Ajay posted the viral image and credited it to “Alamy stock photo.”

The post had garnered over 570 shares at the time of publishing this article. The image is also being shared on Twitter with the same claim.

You can view the archived version here.(Source: Facebook/ Screenshot)

You can view the archived version here.(Source: Twitter/ Screenshot)

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

We did a Google reverse image search, leading us to a link of Alamy’s website, which carried the viral image and credited it to Prabhat Kumar Verma. The description shared along with the image mentioned that it dates back to 17 May 2018 and is from Uttar Pradesh’s Allahabad (now Prayagraj).

“Muslims offer night prayers called taraweeh during Ramadan month in Allahabad, Ramadhan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and the month in which the Quran was revealed, Fasting during the month of Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. The month is spent by Muslims fasting during the daylight hours from dawn to sunset,” the description reads.

Alamy mentioned that it is a 2018 image from Uttar Pradesh’s Allahabad.(Photo Courtesy: Alamy/ Screenshot)

If you carefully look at the viral image, the text below the image does mention “Alamy stock photo.”

Further, Google reverse search also led us to a retweet by journalist Dhanya Rajendran. She had retweeted Tirupathur Police’s tweet that had called the claim being shared along with the viral image as false.

It is clear that a 2018 image from Uttar Pradesh’s Allahabad was shared to propagate the false claim that several people offered namaz in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore amid the ongoing coronavirus lockdown and flouted rules.

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