Image From 2019 Viral as ‘Massive Crowds at Cong-Left Rally in WB’

An image showing a massive gathering is doing the rounds on social media with a claim that it is from a recent joint rally organised by Congress and the CPI (M).

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

As West Bengal gears up for the eight-phase Assembly election, starting 27 March, an image showing a massive gathering at a Left Front rally organised in Kolkata in 2019 is doing the rounds on social media as that from a recent joint rally organised by Congress and the CPI (M).

CLAIM

The image showing a massive gathering of people is being shared with different claims to insinuate that the turnout is representative of people’s anger against the central government and the state government in Bengal.

Some Congress and Left functionaries shared the image with the same misleading claim.

An archived version of the tweet can be accessed here.(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

An archived version of the tweet can be accessed here.(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

An archived version of the post can be accessed here.(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

An archived version of the post can be accessed here.(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

WHAT WE FOUND

On conducting a reverse image search on the picture, we came across a tweet that mentioned that the picture is from 2019.

An archived version of the tweet can be accessed here.(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

Taking a cue from here, we ran a keyword search on Google using ‘Left Front Brigade 2019’ and found a report from February 2019 by Peoples Dispatch, a media organisation that covers people’s movements and organisations across the globe, carrying the viral image.

(Source: Peoples Dispatch/Screenshot)

We also found the viral image on the website of Alamy stock photo collection, which mentioned that it was taken on 3 February 2019 ahead of the general elections.

(Source: Alamy/Screenshot)

Here’s a comparison between the viral image and the Alamy image from 2019.

(Photo: The Quint)

The Left Front in alliance with the Congress has formed the Indian Secular Front (ISF) for the upcoming Bengal elections. While they did organise a rally to kickstart their campaign on 28 February, the viral image is from 2019.

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