False: Photo shows banner erected by China in Indian territory in 2020?
False: Photo shows banner erected by China in Indian territory in 2020?
(AFP) A photo has been shared thousands of times in multiple Facebook and Twitter posts which claim it shows a banner displaying the words "FIGHT TO WIN" erected by China in the Indian territory of Ladakh. The photo circulated online in June 2020 as tensions rose in Ladakh, which is situated close to the India-China border. The claim is false; the photo has circulated in reports since October 2012 about a banner installed by the Indian Army in Ladakh.
The photo was published in this Facebook post on June 14. It has been shared more than 2,000 times.
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The Facebook post s caption states: “China installed this banner in Ladakh. Clear message to Modi.”
Modi refers to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was elected in 2014.
Renewed tensions between China and India in Ladakh led to a deadly clash that had killed at least 20 Indian soldiers on June 16. The confrontation marked the first deadly incident in a long-running border dispute between the two Asian nuclear powers in nearly half a century, AFP reported here.
The claim is false; the photo has circulated in reports since 2012, before Modi became prime minister.
A reverse image search on Google found the same photo published in a report by Canadian newspaper Vancouver Sun on October 24, 2012. The photo was attributed to Daniel Berehulak, who was a Getty Images staff news photographer in India at the time, according to his personal website.
A subsequent keyword search on Google found the photo published on Getty Images’ website on October 5, 2012.
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The Getty Images photo caption states: “An Indian Military banner post is seen on the road to Pangong Lake on October 5, 2012 near to Leh, Ladakh, India. Ladakh, nestled between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, was once an ancient Buddhist Kingdom. Ladakh, sharing borders with both China and Pakistan, has seen an increase in tourism over the last few years, an alternative to Nepali Himalayan treks.”
Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading posts (L) and the Getty Images photo (R):
