Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
New Delhi, Nov 10 (IANS) As panic and misinformation spread following the deadly car blast near Delhi’s Red Fort on Monday evening, the Press Information Bureau’s fact-checking unit swiftly intervened to debunk viral falsehoods. In a late-night post on Twitter, PIB revealed a widely circulated image – showing a huge fireball and mushroom cloud – is being misrepresented as footage of the Delhi blast. The agency clarified that the photo is actually of an Israeli airstrike on the Dahiyah suburb of Beirut in Lebanon on September 27, 2024. “Some propaganda accounts are circulating an old image on social media, falsely claiming it to be linked to the Delhi blasts,” PIB said. “PIBFactCheck: The picture is of the explosion in Lebanon in 2024, not Delhi.” The post included a direct link to a Lebanese news outlet (mtv.com.lb), confirming the original reference: “A new Israeli airstrike targets Beirut’s Dahiyah.” The misinformation emerged within an hour of the blast that occurred at 6:52 pm, killing eight people and injuring more than 25 near Gate No. 1 of the Red Fort metro station. Several unverified handles, some with blue-check marks, boosted Lebanon’s image with captions such as “attack on Delhi” and “terror returns to the capital”. By 9 p.m., the fake scene had garnered more than 1.2 million impressions, prompting panic and conspiracy theories ranging from foreign involvement to domestic sabotage. The PIB intervention came as Home Minister Amit Shah visited the blast site and Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Hospital, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Draupadi Murmu and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath expressed condolences. Delhi Police urged citizens to refrain from sharing unverified content, warning that such posts could “hinder the ongoing investigation.” Fact-checkers noted that the image of the Lebanon explosion – originally linked to escalating Israel-Hezbollah tensions – was recycled several times in 2024, including over unrelated incidents in Syria and Iraq. Officials have identified more than 40 accounts for spreading fake images, which will be dealt with under IT rules. Meanwhile, the NIA and Delhi Police Special Cell are continuing their investigation into the actual blast. As the nation mourns, PIB reiterated: “Always verify such claims through reliable and official sources before sharing.” –IANS SKTR/DEN