Fact Check: 2022 Image Of Varanasi Voters Shared With False Context About Muslim Population

Fact Check: An old image from 2022 Varanasi state assembly election is being falsely shared as recent image from 2024 Lok Sabha election to claim that Muslim population is voting in majority.

(Source: X screenshot)

Fact Check: An image showing several burqa-clad women and one woman wearing a saree is going viral on social media.

The claim insinuates that the Muslim population is voting in majority in 2024 Lok Sabha Election and the Hindus are not.

 

(Source: X/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)

What's the truth?: This image is from 2022 and is from Varanasi.

It is unrelated to the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.

How did we find out the truth?: We performed a reverse image search on Google and came across a report shared by Reuters.

This was shared on 7 March 2022 and the caption stated that the voters were standing in queue to cast their vote in Varanasi during the last phase of state assembly election.

The image is unrelated to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

 

This photo is from 2022. (Source: Reuters/Screenshot)

The article stated that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is "expected to retain control of India's most populous state after a month-long voting process".

Conclusion: An old image from Varanasi is going viral with a misleading context linked to 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.

This story was originally published by TheQuint.com, as part of the Shakti Collective. Except for the headline, excerpt, and the opening introduction para, this story has not been edited by ABPLIVE staff.