The widely discussed photograph of a woman sitting on her knees beside the lifeless body of her husband is from the recent Kashmir attack, not from an old incident. On April 22, in Pahalgam of Anantnag district in Indian-administered Kashmir, at least 26 people were killed and many others injured in a horrific attack by an armed group on tourists. Following this event, Hindutva-driven bots circulated a screenshot of a Google image search result across the internet, falsely claiming that the photo was not related to the recent Pahalgam attack. The image shows a grieving woman sitting on her knees beside the motionless body of a young man lying in an open field.

Fact-check

Rumor Scanner Team's investigation revealed that the discussed photograph is not old; it is indeed from the April 22 Kashmir attack. Google Image Search previews often display incorrect dates, causing confusion and leading to claims that the photo is from an earlier incident. However, media sources reported that the individual seen in the photograph is newlywed Indian Navy Lieutenant Vinay Narwal. He was killed in the attack while visiting Kashmir on his honeymoon. The woman sitting beside him is his wife, Himanshi.

At the beginning of the investigation into the widely circulated screenshot showing the woman sitting beside the lifeless body, a report was found on the website of the Indian news outlet Hindustan Times, published on April 23 under the headline "Heartbreaking story behind viral Pahalgam photo: A Navy officer, schoolteacher wife on their honeymoon." According to the report, the photo is from the April 22 Kashmir attack. It depicts the slain Navy officer Vinay Narwal and his wife, Himanshi, sitting beside him. Vinay Narwal and Himanshi were married on April 16. As part of their honeymoon, they were travelling in Kashmir. They had originally planned to visit Switzerland, but due to a delay in obtaining their Swiss visas, they went to Pahalgam instead.

Additionally, reports published on the websites of NDTV and The Times of India regarding the recent attack on tourists by gunmen in Pahalgam, Indian-administered Kashmir, confirm that the image is from the same recent incident.

How Google Reverse Image Search Preview Caused Confusion:

Performing a reverse image search of the photograph on Google displays several results. In one instance, the date shown is four years ago. However, upon clicking the link, it leads to an irrelevant image posted on a page called "Memes Of Wasseypur" on November 2, 2020. In another case, a result shows a date from seven years ago, but clicking the link again leads to an unrelated photo. Similarly, another result shows a date from seven months ago, but clicking the link reveals a different image.

Thus, it is confirmed that Google Reverse Image Search previews often show incorrect dates. Although the preview might seem to match the searched photo, clicking on the link leads to unrelated content that bears no connection to the original image. This is a flaw in Google Image Search. As a result, verifying the authenticity of a photo based solely on the date displayed in the preview can lead to confusion.

Therefore, using misleading screenshots from Google Search previews, the image from the recent attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Indian-administered Kashmir, is being falsely claimed as an old incident, which is misleading.

Original News Source: https://rumorscanner.com/fact-check/recent-kashmir-attack-incident-photo-claimed-as-old/147424