Fact Check: Claim that G20 Summit hoardings were used to cover Delhi slum areas is misleading
Fact Check: India TV's fact-check found that the viral picture is not from Delhi but from Mumbai and dates back to December 2022.
India TV Fact Check: India is hosting the G-20 Summit this year from September 9 to September 10 in New Delhi. In light of the G20 Summit, Delhi has been adorned like a bride, with prominent G-20 billboards and wall paintings visible across various parts of the city. Nevertheless, some images are circulating on social media that allege these pictures depict Delhi during the G20 Summit, where slums and dilapidated buildings are covered by large G20 billboards. When we fact-checked this image, it turned out to be misleading.
Claim
A Facebook user named 'Yogesh Tiwari' has shared a photo on Facebook, which is a collage of two images. In this photo, there are several G20 Summit billboards that are covering some dilapidated buildings. Upon close inspection, these buildings appear to be in poor condition. 'Yogesh Tiwari' shared this post on September 5, 2023, with a caption that reads, See how poverty was eradicated from Delhi instantly..."
Rahul Kumar, another Facebook user, shared a similar collage on his account with the caption, "See how poverty has disappeared from Delhi immediately. I think the great NGOs working to eliminate poverty should also consider side businesses like tents, pandals, and hoardings."
India TV Fact Check
When we closely examined this collage of images, we noticed something important. In one of the viral photos, there was a text that read, "Mumbai Welcome G20 Delegates". The text on the picture clearly indicates that the image is not from Delhi but from Mumbai.
After this, to further investigate and confirm, we used Google Lens to search for these images. As soon as we searched this image on Google, several news articles related to it appeared. During this search, we came across a news article from 'The Hindu,' which was published on December 18, 2022. In 'The Hindu' article, the same image was used, which was found in the viral Facebook post. The 'The Hindu' article mentioned that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had "covered" some of Mumbai's slums to hide the economic disparities during the G20 meeting held in the city.
Continuing in this manner, we used Google Lens to search for another image from the viral post. This search led us to an English news website called the 'National Herald.' The article was published on December 17, 2022.
In the 'National Herald' article, it was mentioned, "India is hosting the G20 summit this year, and its three-day meeting is being held in Mumbai. Mumbai city, which has hosted several international events and leaders, witnessed something unusual this time - municipal authorities are trying to cover up its slums and make them disappear from sight."
In our investigation, we found two images from the viral post from Mumbai. However, to verify these images, we used Google Lens to search for another image that was shared on Facebook. This search led us to another news article published on January 8, 2023, on the ABP news website. In this article, the same image from the viral post was published.
The article stated, "India has formally taken over the presidency of the G20 summit from December 1. During this time, some images have emerged that are astonishing. In the month of December (2022), representatives from G20 countries arrived in Mumbai for the summit. During this time, images of Mumbai's slums being covered with curtain walls also came to light."
Claim was misleading
The Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check has also stated that this is an old image from Mumbai. "The image below is being used in many social media posts in the context of the #G20 Summit to be held between 9-10 September 2023 in New Delhi. #PIBFactCheck - This is an old image from Mumbai and not Delhi," PIB Fact Check said.
Therefore, India TV's fact-check confirmed that the images circulating on Facebook claiming to be of Delhi during the G20 Summit were actually from Mumbai and were taken during last year's G-20 Summit meetings in December.
About G20 Summit
India is hosting the G20 Summit and the main event is being held in New Delhi on September 9-10. The summit is to be attended by 29 heads of state as well as top officials of the European Union and invited guest countries and 14 heads of international organisations.
The Group of Twenty (G20) comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the US, the UK and the European Union.
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