A photograph of what looks like an engraved stone art showing a person working on a computer is going viral.
The claim: Those sharing the image claimed the artwork was a 1400-year-old stonework built at Lalgiri temple by Pallava King Narasimha, which showed a person working on a computer. The claim goes on to add that while it is believed that there was no electricity during those times but Hindu temples have proof of technology from thousands of years ago.
The claims were shared massively on Facebook and Twitter, and we also received the image as a query on our WhatsApp tipline.
The truth: We found that the claim was false.
The artwork was created by a Mexican artist called Raul Cruz, who told The Quint's WebQoof team that he first created the artwork 25 years ago.
"It has nothing to do with India, it's just a fantasy work like many I've done for many years, combining fantasy and science fiction with the Mayan and Aztec cultures of my country," he added.
How did we find that out:
We conducted a reverse image search on the viral image and found the photograph on the website of a weekly magazine of and about speculative fiction, Strange Horizons.
The post mentioned that the illustration was created by Raul Cruz (Racrufi), who had been working as a freelancer since 1983.
"Raul's artwork, inspired by Aztec and Mayan art, mixes traditional elements with science fiction and fantastic themes, " the post added.
What does the artist have to say:
Taking a cue from the post, we reached out to Cruz via email.
He confirmed that the artwork had nothing to do with India and added that it was a fantasy work, combining fantasy and science fiction with the Mayan and Aztec cultures,
"I have made several versions according to how the shape of computers changes," Cruz said.
We found a different version of the artwork published on his Instagram handles on 5 September 2018.
He also sent us a link to this artstation page where the artwork was published.
We also found an article on his work on a Mexican website called NeoMexicanismos.
Conclusion: An artwork created as a work of fantasy has gone viral with a false claim that it shows a stone art created by Pallava King Narasimha at Lalgiri temple.
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