Image of Woman Holding 'Boycott Bollywood' Poster is Morphed!

Fact-Check | The original image, which dates back to December 2012, was from a protest following the 'Nirbhaya' gangrape case and not against Bollywood.

(Photo: The Quint)

The photo of a protestor carrying a poster demanding the "boycott of Bollywood movies for promoting Islam and Urdu" has gone viral on social media.

However, we found that the original image, which dates back to December 2012, was from a protest following the 'Nirbhaya' gang rape case. The text on the original poster read, “Don't tell me how to dress! Tell them not to rape!!”

CLAIM

The text on the poster, written in Hindi, said, "भारतीय Bollywood मनोरंजन का नहीं इस्लाम और उर्दू के प्रचार का अड्डा है। इसलिए आपको हर मूवी में इस्लाम को महान और हर गाने में अली, मौला, खुदा यह शब्द सुनने को मिलते हैं boycott Bollywood."

[Translation: Indian Bollywood is not a place for entertainment but for the promotion of Islam and Urdu. That's why you get to hear about the greatness of Islam in every movie and the words Ali, Maula, Khuda in every song. Boycott Bollywood.]

A Facebook page called 'Raag Darbari,' which has over 11 lakh followers, shared the viral image with a caption, which when translated from Hindi said,"It is right".

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Photo: Screenshot/Facebook)

The image was shared widely on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms and the archives of the posts can be found here, here, here and here.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

Upon conducting a reverse image search on Google, we found that the viral image was used in a news report published on the BBC on 21 December 2012.

The report was titled, 'Fifth arrest in Delhi bus gang rape' and the text in the poster said, "DON’T TELL ME HOW TO DRESS! TELL THEM NOT TO RAPE!! (sic)". The image was credited to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Photo: BBC/Screenshot)

We also found the same photograph on Getty Images and it was uploaded on 20 December 2012.

The caption of the photograph said, "Indian students holds placards as they shout-slogans against a recent rape that took place in New Delhi during a protest in Amritsar on 20 December 2012. Despite an outpouring of anger at a student's gang-rape, observers say misogyny remains widespread in India where sex assaults are often dismissed as "teasing" and victims find themselves blamed for attacks. The December 16 assault on a bus in New Delhi, which left a 23-year-old victim fighting for her life, has triggered nationwide revulsion and protests. (sic)"

(Photo: Getty Images/Screenshot)

The image was taken by one Narinder Nanu for AFP. A side-by-side comparison of the two shows that the viral image has been edited.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Evidently, an old image from an unrelated protest was morphed to claim that people held a protest against Bollywood for "promoting" Islam and Urdu.

(With inputs from SM Hoax Slayer)

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