Two images are going viral on social media platforms with users claiming that they show The Economist digitally erasing the Palestinian flag on their cover photograph.
What have users said?: Those sharing the images have uploaded them with a caption that said, "The Economist magazine, the mouthpiece of the globalists, censored the Palestinian flag from the original photo on its latest cover on Bangladesh..."
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)
Is the claim true?: The claim is misleading as The Economist did not alter their cover image but used a different photograph where the Palestinian flag was not seen.
However, it should be noted that a Palestinian flag was hoisted at the same location when the protesters had surrounded the Prime Minister's residence in Bangladesh.
How did we find that out?: We performed a Google Lens search on the second image and came across a report published in The New York Times.
The report carried the image that was seen on the cover of the magazine.
Its caption read, "Protesters at the prime minister’s residence in Dhaka." The image was attributed to KM Asad and Agence France-Presse (AFP), and its source was the stock image website Getty Images.
The report was published on 5 August 2024.
(Source: NYT/Screenshot)
Findings on Getty Images: On searching for the photographer's name on the website, we found the cover image of the magazine published on 5 August.
However, we further found an image clicked by Asad which showed a person carrying the Palestinian flag.
The image's caption said, " Anti-government protester gather as they storm Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's palace in Dhaka. Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's 15-year rule ended on August 5, 2024 as she fled after more than a month of deadly protests as the military announced it would form an interim government."
It was also clicked on 5 August.
(Source: Getty Images/Screenshot)
Other sources: Team WebQoof found several visuals uploaded on YouTube that proved that a Palestinian flag was indeed hoisted during the protest.
Statement from the photographer: Asad took to his official Instagram handle to clarify that "The Economist did not photoshop this image."
The post shared on 10 August mentioned that people raising other flags, such as the Palestinian and communist flags, in the same place.
He said, "I can assure you that when I was on the spot, no one was there with those two flags hanging...They [The Economist] did not erase those two flags; they published the image as it is. The photograph they published is the exact one I provided, capturing the scene as I saw it.
Conclusion: It is clear that The Economist did not alter their cover image to remove the Palestinian flag.
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