Lighthouse Journalism came across a picture being widely shared on social media platforms which featured, Congress president, Mallikarjun Kharge, chief minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar, former deputy CM of BiharTejashwi Yadav, and Leader of the Opposition of Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. It was claimed that the picture is recent and the claims stated that the image suggests that political changes will soon be witnessed in Bihar.
During the investigation, we found that the image is old from 2023 and not recent. The viral claim is misleading.
Claim:
X user I.N.D.I.A गठबन्धन shared the picture with the viral claim.
Other users too are sharing the image with similar claims.
Investigation:
We started the investigation by running a reverse image search on the image.
We found the image in an article updated on June 23, 2023. The caption stated: About 18 political parties are likely to attend the meeting convened by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar.
We also found the image on the website of news agency ANI.
The caption said: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Bihar Dy. CM Tejashwi Yadav, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh (Photo/Twitter/Rahul Gandhi)
We also found a video report about the meeting that happened a year ago.
We also found these pictures on the X handle of Janata Dal (United).
The caption suggested Nitish Kumar met prominent opposition party leaders in New Delhi. The picture was published on April 12, 2024.
Conclusion: An old picture from 2023 of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar meeting prominent leaders of Opposition in New Delhi is being shared as recent with misleading claims. The picture does not suggest recent political changes in Bihar.
