Image of a gathering in Lahore was taken in April 2018, not at an April 2022 rally in support of former Pakistan PM Imran Khan
The image is not recent, however, and is unconnected to a rally held in Lahore on April 21, 2022.
(Reuters) - An image of a mass gathering was not taken on April 21, 2022, in Lahore, Pakistan at a Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rally, despite a miscaptioned image widely shared online.
The Minar-e-Pakistan monument can be seen in the foreground of the photograph, locating the image to Lahore, Pakistan.
Users shared the image with false claims that the photograph was taken during a rally on April 21, 2022, in support of Imran Khan. who was recently ousted as prime minister of Pakistan.
Examples of the miscaptioned image shared online can be seen (archive.ph/wip/lpR1E), (here), (here), (archive.ph/wip/SEyAd), (here).
The image is not recent, however, and is unconnected to a rally held in Lahore on April 21, 2022.
A reverse image search reveals that Imran Khan posted the image to his social media account on April 29, 2018.
The editor of Pakistan Passion, Saj Sadiq, posted the images to his Twitter account on April 30, 2018, with a caption that reads: “Incredible scenes at the PTI jalsa in Lahore. Must feel like the MCG in 1992 for Imran Khan”.
UrduPoint, a website based in Pakistan, also published the image in April 2018.
Reuters images of the April 21, 2022 Lahore rally in support of Khan can be viewed (here).
Imran Khan also released a video of the gathering on his Facebook page.
Pakistan’s lower house of parliament voted on April 10 to remove Khan from office, following a nearly 14-hour standoff between the opposition and Khan’s ruling PTI party.
Khan has since demanded fresh elections amid political turmoil after a new government took over and warned it faces an enormous challenge to revive a battered economy.
Reuters previously addressed another miscaptioned image of a dense crowd gathered late in the day that was shared online with the false claim that it showed an April 13, 2022 rally in support of Khan. That image dates to at least March 27, 2022, prior to Khan’s removal as prime minister.
VERDICT
Miscaptioned. An image of a mass gathering taken during the night was not captured in April 2022 at a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rally. A reverse image search reveals that the image was taken at a rally in April 2018.
