An image of volunteers holding ‘welcome refugees’ placards was shared by Major Surendra Poonia with a false claim that it shows the teacher who was beheaded in Paris.
However, the image is unrelated and was shared by an organisation called Good Chance as part of its demonstration to welcome refugees in Kent, England and not Paris.
CLAIM
The photo was shared by Major Poonia with the claim,
“फ़ोटो में जो बीच में खड़ा है वो वही टीचर है जिसका एक जिहादी ने पेरिस में सर काट दिया था...कुछ साल पहले वो फ़्रांस में आने वाले Refugees का स्वागत कर रहा था पर उसे क्या पता था कि वो refugee उसी का गला काट देंगे . ये उन लिबरांडुओं के लिये है जो भारत में रोहिंग्या को बसाना चाहते हैं “
(Translation: “The one standing in the middle of the photo is the same teacher who was beheaded by a ‘jihadist’ in Paris ... A few years ago he was welcoming the refugees arriving in France, but little did he know that those refugees will cut his throat. This is for those liberals who want to settle Rohingyas in India.”)
The image was also shared by other social media users with the same claim.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
1. The picture is not from Paris but the United Kingdom.
2. This image can’t be of an incident that Poonia mentioned as this picture was shared by an organisation called Good Chance on 17 October 2020 and the said beheading happened on 16 October in Paris.
However, Poonia doesn’t clearly mention which incident is he referring to, but according to the details and news reports, a teacher was beheaded in Paris after he allegedly showed controversial caricatures of Prophet Mohammed to his students, CNN reported.
UNRELATED PICTURE SHARED AS INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED IN PARIS
A reverse image search led us to the original tweet by Good Chance, which had shared the image on 17 October 2020.
The image was captioned, “Today the Good Chance team are in Folkestone to #WelcomeRefugees. The people of Kent are out in force at the Napier Barracks to let people know that they are WELCOME @_KRAN_”
A video of the event was also shared by Kent Refugee Action Network (KRAN) who were welcoming refugees to Kent in England on 17 October.
The Guardian and the Independent also reported on the event stating that more than 200 people of the local community at Napier Barracks in Kent gathered outside a former military barracks housing asylum seekers near Folkestone. Police had also been deployed to protect the supporters from far-right protesters against migrants.
Clearly, the event took place a day after the teacher was beheaded, so he cannot be the man in the picture.
VISUAL CLUES SHOW THAT THE IMAGE IS FROM UK
Further, Poonia’s claims that the demonstration was for welcoming refugees to France is false, since the event took place in United Kingdom. Visual clues in the picture also attest the location of the event.
The sign on the van says “Kent Police,” a police force responsible for regions in South East England.
The number plate on the car behind the volunteers is yellow in colour, which is the legal requirement for cars in UK. It also says the letters “BF,” which refer to the Birmingham area.
Evidently, a picture from an unrelated event in the UK is being shared with the false claim that it shows the teacher who was beheaded in Paris.
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