Multiple posts on Facebook and Twitter, shared thousands of times, contain an image purporting to show an stock exchange ticker displaying a message which tells people to vote against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The image has been doctored; in the original photo the ticker displays share prices; the doctored image was posted on Twitter by standup comedian Kunal Kamra who clearly said it was not real.
The post has been shared more than 15,000 times since and contains the image showing the Bombay Stock Exchange in Mumbai.
An electronic ticker on the building's exterior appears to display a message in red capital letters that says: “Don’t vote for Modi”.
Below is a screenshot of the false post:
Screenshot of the misleading post
The post’s caption, translated to English, says: “Mumbai’s share market has also written don’t vote for Modi. Zoom in and see for yourself.”
The same misleading image has been shared elsewhere on Facebook.
However the image has been doctored from an original photograph that appears on the ‘about’ page of the Bombay Stock Exchange website.
The image below compares screenshots of the picture in the misleading post (L) with the original image as it appears on the bourse’s site (R):
Comparison of misleading image (L) and original photo (R)
The verified Twitter account of the Bombay Stock Exchange addressed the doctored image in this tweet dated April 19, 2019.
It says: “A fake morphed photo against a political party using BSE building has been shared by @kunalkamra88.
“BSE is extremely disappointed at unfortunate,unauthorized & illegal use of BSE buildg fr nefarious activities.BSE reserves right to take appropriate legal action agnst @kunalkamra88”.
The tweet is embedded below:
A fake morphed photo against a political party using BSE building has been shared by @kunalkamra88.BSE is extremely disappointed at unfortunate,unauthorized & illegal use of BSE buildg fr nefarious activities.BSE reserves right to take appropriate legal action agnst @kunalkamra88— BSE India (@BSEIndia) April 19, 2019
@kunalkamra88 is the Twitter handle of stage artist and comedian Kunal Kamra.
In this tweet published April 14, 2019, Kamra shared the doctored image of the bourse alongside other images containing the words “Don’t vote for Modi”.
The caption made it clear he did not believe the images were real. It said: "These photos are as real as Modiji’s promises…”
Kamra’s tweet is embedded below:
These photos are as real as Modiji's promises... pic.twitter.com/zEBOUxyLKJ— Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) April 14, 2019
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