By Srijit Das
A morphed screenshot of an Instagram story by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official handle is circulating online falsely claiming that he shared an image with the text 'all eyes on PoK' to show solidarity with Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.
The screenshot is viral in the backdrop of the AI-generated 'All eyes on Rafah' image which has taken the internet by storm. After Israel attacked a refugee camp in Rafah on May 26, a safe zone in Gaza city killing at least 45, the AI image started circulating. The image appears to show rows of trucks with snowcapped mountains in the background. Several verified Indian Instagram users shared the image as their story in solidarity with deceased Palestinians.
BOOM found that the screenshot is fabricated and Modi did not share any such story showing solidarity with PoK amidst the Israel-Gaza conflict.
A verified X user shared the photo with the caption, "All eyes on PoK ~ Narendra Modi".
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
Also Read:Ritika Sajdeh Deletes #AllEyesOnRafah Post Amid Online Harassment
Fact Check
BOOM closely observed the viral image and noticed a '1 h' mark, indicating that the screenshot was taken one hour after the image was posted as an Instagram story from Narendra Modi's official handle.
Taking a cue, we ran a related keyword search but found no credible news reports stating that Modi posted the viral picture from his official Instagram profile. We also could not find any other screenshots of the Instagram story shared by internet users on social media platforms.
We also went through the screenshots of the 'All Eyes On Rafah' image circulating on social media. We then noticed that several right-wing accounts trolled celebrities for sympathising with Palestine. Some of these accounts also posted the viral 'All Eyes On POK' picture on X, editing the 'All Eyes On Rafah' picture.
A verified X handle, @Nher_who, shared a compilation of celebrities who posted the 'All Eyes On Rafah' image on their official Instagram accounts, including a screenshot from actress Gauahar Khan's official profile.
Click here to view an archive of the post.
We noticed that the screenshot of Gauahar Khan's Instagram story featuring the 'All Eyes On Rafah' image has the same timestamp which states that it was posted 1 hour ago, share count of 12.4 million stories and time slider which shows that it is the sixth story from the profile.
Below is a comparison of both the screenshots.
On May 28, 2024, India Today published a report featuring a screenshot of Khan's same Instagram story. According to the article, the actress shared a series of posts regarding the Rafah attack, stating, "Tonight, mothers in Gaza will again hold their children and hope they sleep. And they, and we, will pray that they wake”.
Also Read:Meta Platforms Littered With Political Deepfakes Under The Garb Of Satire
