A morphed image of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sitting in front of a table with a plate of what appears to be a beef preparation is circulating on social media with false claims that he was photographed eating beef in Kerala.
BOOM found the image to be digitally manipulated. The original picture does not show any such food plate in front of the Congress leader.
In the viral image Rahul Gandhi can be seen sitting on a table accompanied by other leaders of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee, Kodikunnil Suresh and KC Venugopal, and taking a sip from his cup. Food items including a plate of Kerala porotta, biscuits and a meat preparation with several paper glasses and a water bottle can be seen on the table in the picture.
In its 13th day of the 150-day long Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi and other prominent Congress leaders are crossing the state of Kerala, as a part of the foot march; the march will traverse several states before it reaches Srinagar. At present in Kerala, the foot march, which began in Kanyakumari, is supposed to reach Karnataka on September 30.
The Malayalam caption with the image translates to, "What is the problem if Rahul ate Beef? This the Kerala were flamboyant Congressmen set example by killing a calf. This is the Kerala of Communists who held beef fest. Isn't beef the coolest, the best, the super? Or let Rahul Chettan (brother) say it himself."
(Original Text in Malayalam: അതെന്നാടാ കൂവേ, രാഹുൽ പൊറോട്ട- ബീഫ് കഴിച്ചാൽ? പശുക്കിടാവിനെ ജീവനോടെ വെട്ടിക്കൂട്ടി മാതൃക കാണിച്ച ഉശിരുള്ള കോൺഗ്രസുകാരുള്ള കേരളമാണെടാ ഇത്. ബീഫ് ഫെസ്റ്റ് നടത്തിയ കമ്യൂണിസ്റ്റുകളുടെ ഖേരളമാണെടാ. ബീഫ് അടിപൊളിയല്ലേ, ബെസ്റ്റല്ലേ, സൂപ്പറല്ലേ? അല്ലെങ്കിൽ രാഹുൽ ചേട്ടൻ തന്നെ പറയട്ടെ.)
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Fact Check
BOOM performed a reverse image search to know details about the picture and found the original photograph on a Manorama article published on September 17, 2022.
The image, watermarked by Manorama, is captioned in Malayalam which roughly translates to, "When Rahul Gandhi entered the tea shop in Vallikeezhu.. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, KPCC Working President Kodikunvil Suresh MP, KC Venugopal MP and Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan nearby."
The original image, however, does not show a plate with a beef food item as shown in the viral picture.
A comparison between the viral image and the original photograph can be seen below.
We also found a Kerala Kaumudi article carrying the original photograph published on September 17, 2022. The article reported about Rahul Gandhi's visit to a small stall during the Congress' nationwide foot-march rally 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in Kerala's Vallikeezhu.
The report states, "Rahul, who was spotted in the stall amid the gathering, suddenly walked in, to the surprise of the stall owner. He served porotta and biscuits for the Congress leader. While Rahul was having a chit-chat with VD Satheesan, KC Venugopal and Kodikunnil Suresh, the shopkeeper came with black tea. Rahul continued his journey after having black tea with porotta and taking photos with the family members of the shopkeeper."