Viral Image of ‘Modi Go Back’ Graffiti Is From Kolkata Not Bihar

Fact-Check of Bihar Elections 2020: The image is from January 2020, when PM Modi visited West Bengal and anti-CAA protests broke out in Kolkata.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

With the Bihar Assembly elections right around the corner, an old image of street graffiti saying ‘Modi Go Back,’ has gone viral on social media with the false claim that it’s a recent image from Bihar.

The image is from January 2020, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited West Bengal and anti-CAA protests broke out in Kolkata’s Esplanade area.

The viral image.(Source: Twitter)

CLAIM

Users shared the image with the claim, “Bihar is on fire mode.”

You can view an archived version here.(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

You can view an archived version here.(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

You can view an archived version here.(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

You can view an archived version here.(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

The image is from West Bengal’s Kolkata and not Bihar, as claimed.

A reverse image search led us to the original image shared by journalist Mayukh Ranjan Ghosh on 11 January 2020.

The image was captioned, “This is one of the busiest roads in Kolkata. #Esplanade. Lakhs and lakhs of people commute, jam packed traffic r seen. Just look at this place tonight. Roads turned into graffitis, no traffic, all roads blocked, students protesting overnight. (sic)”

(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

Further, in the background of the viral image, the text on the building reads “Metro Channel Control Post Hare Street Police Station.”

A keyword search on Google Maps revealed that the location is indeed in Kolkata. Images on Google Maps were also similar to the building in the viral image.

(Photo: Twitter/Google Maps/Altered by The Quint)

We also found news reports by Scroll and The Times of India from January 2020 with images of the graffiti from different angles.

(Source: TOI/Screenshot)

The articles stated that anti-CAA protesters in Kolkata’s Esplanade area “left behind a message” for PM Modi, who was visiting West Bengal at the time.

Evidently, an old image from Kolkata has been revived in light of the upcoming Bihar elections to falsely suggest that people of Bihar asked Modi to “go back.”

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