An image has been shared multiple times in posts on Facebook alongside a claim it shows Rahul Gandhi, leader of the main Indian opposition Congress party, dining with Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan. The claim is false; the photo of Khan has been doctored to make it appear as though Gandhi is sitting beside him.
The doctored image was shared in this Facebook post on May 2, 2019.
It shows India's Rahul Gandhi and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The Hindi language caption translates to English as: “Who is this eating chicken biryani beside Miya Imran? Now the people will judge. This is Pappu's condition.”
Below is a screenshot of the doctored image:
Miya is an honorific for Muslim males, while Rahul Gandhi is often referred to as “Pappu” - which means "fool" or "simpleton" in Hindi - by supporters of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The claim is false; the photo of Khan has been doctored to make it appear as though Gandhi is sitting beside him.
The part of the image showing Rahul Gandhi has been digitally manipulated. AFP has circled where someone else's hand appears next to Gandhi's:
A reverse image search on Google found the image was doctored from this photo, which was posted on Twitter on July 5, 2015.
The photo shows Khan dining with his then-wife Reham Khan. Below is a screenshot of that photo.
The couple divorced in October 2015 after ten months of marriage.
The photo of Rahul Gandhi has been doctored from this image of him opening a canteen in Bengaluru, India published by Indian newspaper The Hindu, on August 17, 2017.
In the photo, Gandhi is in the same pose as appears in the doctored image in the misleading Facebook posts.
Below is a screenshot of the photo:
AFP has previously debunked social media posts sharing the same image which had been doctored to show Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi eating with Imran Khan.
The exact same image has also previously been debunked by fact-checking organisation Fact Crescendo.
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