Fact check: Photo of Tamil Nadu BJP leaders sitting with beer bottles is morphed

A photo of a group of men seated around a dining table is gathering a lot of traction on social media. In the picture, BJP Tamil Nadu general secretary Keshav Vinayak, Coimbatore BJP district president Balaji Uthamarasamy and Telangana BJP vice-president Selva Kumar are seen having a meal with some people. They seemingly have chicken on their plates and some beer bottles on the table. The picture was shared by social media influencer Kovai Harish. Before being deleted, the tweet received more than 37,000 views. (Archived link)

A Facebook user also amplified the image.

Several other Facebook users shared a screenshot of Harish’s tweet.

Fact Check

On zooming in, it can be clearly seen that the picture has been edited. The reflections of the beer bottles kept on the table do not match with the shape of the bottles. This confirms that the image has been doctored.

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We found that Telangana BJP vice-president Selva Kumar had tweeted a similar picture on February 27. However, unlike the viral picture, water bottles – not beer bottles – are kept on the table.

இன்று கவுண்டம்பாளையம் சட்டமன்ற ஆய்வு கூட்டத்திற்கு வந்த மாநில அமைப்பு பொதுசெயலாளர் கேசவ விநாயகன் அவர்களும், மாவட்ட தலைவர் @balaji_utham, மற்ற மாவட்ட மண்டல நிர்வாகிகள் எங்கள் வீட்டில் மதிய உணவு எடுத்து கொண்ட பொழுது. pic.twitter.com/zne0vobwWo

— Selva Kumar (@Selvakumar_IN) February 27, 2023

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The two pictures have been compared side by side here so that the reader can clearly see the difference between them. Apart from this, non-vegetarian food is also visible in the plates on the table in the viral picture. However, it is not there in the real picture.

To sum it up, a shoddily edited image was shared on social media to target Telangana BJP leaders and members. In the original picture, there are neither beer bottles on the table nor non-vegetarian food on the plates.

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