UP Polls: Edited Image Shows Akhilesh Yadav Holding Placard Supporting BJP

In the original photo, Akhilesh Yadav can be seen holding a placard that talks about jobs and employment.

A photo of Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav holding a placard that reads 'one who got Ram, we will bring them to power' with a photograph of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is being shared on social media claiming that the SP chief is endorsing Adityanath for the upcoming 2022 Uttar Pradesh (UP) elections.

However, we found the photo is morphed. In the original image, the former UP chief minister is seen holding a document titled 'नौकरी-रोजगार संकल्प श्रृंखला' [Jobs-employment resolution] for the upcoming Assembly polls.

CLAIM

The photo was shared on social media by UP Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Harish Chandra Srivastava with the claim, originally in Hindi, that goes on to say that even Akhilesh Yadav is supporting BJP in the polls.

The photo was also shared by Hindi news channel Times Now Navbharat journalist Shweta Bhattacharya on 30 January, which had garnered over 13,000 likes. The tweet has now been deleted.

Several social media users have shared the photo along with similar claims and the archived version can be seen here, here, and here.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

We conducted a Google reverse image search on the image and found a Facebook post by Samajwadi Party from 22 January. The post had two photos where Akhilesh Yadav can be seen holding the card.

The text on the placard reads 'नौकरी-रोजगार संकल्प श्रृंखला'

The caption of the post, originally in Hindi, read that the SP chief has announced that if the party comes to power in UP in the upcoming polls, as part of the 'jobs-employment resolution', 22 lakh youths will be given jobs in the Information Technology (IT) sector.

We also found the photos in a tweet on the official Twitter handle of the Samajwadi Party.

Here's a side-by-side comparison of the viral image with the original image from 22 January.

Clearly, a morphed image is being shared on social media falsely claiming that the SP chief is supporting BJP.

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