Photo of Kids Killed in Syria Shared as Organ Theft in Tamil Nadu
A photo of bodies of children is being shared with the claim that they were found dead in a container in Tamil Nadu.
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CLAIM
A photo of bodies of children is being shared widely on social media with the claim that these children were found dead in a container in Tamil Nadu.
According to the message, Tamil Nadu police found that these children had been kidnapped from other countries and brought to India and their bodies were found with organs such as the kidney and liver removed. The message comes with a warning to keep children safe and share the news so that the perpetrator is caught.
The Quint received a query from a reader regarding this photo.
WHAT IS THE TRUTH?
While the photo in question actually shows bodies of dead children, they were not found in Tamil Nadu and missing organs. The photograph actually shows children who were killed in a chemical attack in Ghouta, Syria in August 2013.
WHAT WE FOUND
On conducting a reverse image search, we were directed to reports about chemical attacks in Syria in August 2013, which suggested that these incidents took place in Damascus and Ghouta. On searching for news reports about children being killed in chemical attacks on Ghouta, we came across a report by Human Rights Watch, which carried a photo of the same scene as in the photo in question, from a different angle.
The Quint was able to match the two photos by looking at the bodies of the children and the clothes they were wearing.
In both photos, two children can be seen lying beside each other - one wearing a combination of red and white and the other wearing green.
The body of another child -- wearing blue -- could also be seen in both photos.
We also found other news reports with similar photos, taken at different times, but of the same room, showing the bodies of these children.
According to a report by The Economist, these children were among the casualties of an attack using what were allegedly chemical weapons, which left hundreds of civilians dead. Allegations were also rife at the time that the attack was carried out by government forces, a claim which was denied by the regime vehemently, who instead blamed Syrian opposition groups.
Therefore, the claim propagated with the photo is false. It should be noted that this claim has gone viral before as well, and keeps cropping up from time to time. Previously, it was claimed that these were Malaysian children whose bodies were found in Thailand, missing organs.
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