Image of demonstrator holding an image of Imran Khan, Vladimir Putin is digitally altered
Image of demonstrator holding an image of Imran Khan, Vladimir Putin is digitally altered
REUTERS - An image of demonstrators in Moscow brandishing signs with anti-United States slogans is digitally altered. The signs were altered to make it appear as if the demonstrators were rallying against U.S. interference with one poster appearing to show a photograph of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The original photograph was taken in January 2021 and shows protesters at a rally in support of jailed Kremlin critic, Alexei Navalny in Moscow.
One altered poster reads: “Stop interfering in the affairs of other countries.” Another reads: “No for American interface [sic].”
One user who shared the altered photograph on Facebook said: “Today, Moscow demonstrated against intervention in other countries of the United States in which some people had also taken posters of imran khan [sic] and Russian President vladimir putin [sic]”.
“Mascow [sic] rally for khan,” another said.
One user shared the image on Twitter and commented: “#Moscow protest against #USA interference in other #Countries Some people had pics of @ImranKhanPTI and #Putin together signalling [sic] the latest American interference in #Pakistan #Bajwa”.
The image is digitally altered to include slogans against the United States, however.
The original photograph was taken by an Associated Press photographer, Pavel Golovkin, at a demonstration held in Pushkin square, Moscow on Jan. 23, 2021, against the jailing of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny.
Pushkin Monument is seen in the background of the image, with a geolocation of the photograph viewable.
The original image shows individuals carrying banners with captions in Russian which, when translated to English, read “Freedom for Navalny!” and “One for all and all for one.” One of the protesters in the original photograph is seen holding an image of Navalny which was then edited to show Imran Khan and Vladimir Putin in the altered counterpart.
The original, unaltered image was also published by numerous outlets, including Politico and Ireland’s, Breaking News.
On Jan. 23, 2021 tens of thousands of people demonstrated to demand the release of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who was jailed upon his return to Moscow after being poisoned with a nerve agent on a plane in August 2021.
Pakistan’s prime minister met with the Russian president in Moscow on the day Russian forces invaded Ukraine, in February this year.
Speaking on Thursday in a nationally televised address, Khan said a Western country had been unhappy about his Moscow visit. He mentioned the United States before smilingly correcting it to "a foreign country." But on Friday Khan named the United States in an interview with a local TV channel. The White House denied it is seeking to remove Khan from power.
Reuters has previously addressed digitally altered imagery shared online.
