2016 Pic of Flood in Bangladesh Shared as Recent Visual From India

Photographer Shamsul Haque Suza told us that he had captured the viral image in Bangladesh's Kurigram in 2016.

An image showing a woman cooking on a shaft in the middle of water is being shared on social media to claim that it shows the current situation in India.

However, we found that the viral image dates back to 2016 and was captured in Bangladesh's Kurigram district when flood had hit the area.

CLAIM

The claim along with the image reads: 'वर्तमान भारत की जीती जागती तस्वीर. खैर आप मंदिर_मस्जिद बनाइये'

(Translated: Image of present situation in India but you build temple and mosque)

Several social media users shared the image on Facebook and Twitter and the archived version can be viewed here, here and here.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

We did a reverse image search on Google that led us to a report published by International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) that identifies itself as a humanitarian organisation and was founded in 1919.

The report issued on 16 August 2016 carried the viral image with the caption that claimed that the photo showed the flood situation in Bangladesh's Kurigram.

The image was credited to RDRS, a Bangladesh-based organisation.

The reverse image search result also directed us to a Pinterest link wherein the viral image was uploaded and was credited to photographer Shamsul Haque Suza.

We then contacted the photographer who told us that he had captured the image in July 2016.

“RDRS had sent me on an assignment to cover the flood situation in July 2016. The viral image is from Ulipur upazila in Bangladesh’s Kurigram district. The woman seen in the image was boiling water for her children on a shaft as her house had submerged in the floodwaters.”

Shamsul Haque Suza, photographer

He further shared the RAW file of the original image with us and we used it to extract its EXIF data. The details showed that the image was captured on 19 July 2016.

It is pertinent to note that media outlets such as The Times of India and DNA had earlier wrongly used the viral image in their reportage on floods in the northeast in 2019.

The image had also been incorrectly incorporated by an organisation called Global Living in their article titled: 'Flood Relief Fund for Victims in Nepal.'

Evidently, an old image showing flood situation in Bangladesh was used to falsely claim that it's a recent visual from India.

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