Claim: An image shared on Facebook depicts people in Srinagar protesting against the recent imprisonment of Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik.
Fact: The image in question is not from a protest in Srinagar. The image is, in fact, from a 2018 protest in the United States of America.
On 5 June 2022, Soch Fact Check received a link to a Facebook post shared with the following Urdu caption:
سرینگر میں یاسین ملک کی رہائ اور ریاست کی آزادی کے لیے احتجاج جاری یہ ہیں اصلی کشمیری جو اپنے کشمیر کا حق ادا کر رہے ہیں
Translated into English, the caption reads, “Protests continue in Srinagar for release of Yasin Malik and independence of the state. These are the real Kashmiris who are paying their dues for Kashmir.”
The caption refers to a protest in Srinagar, in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir, over the imprisonment of Kashmiri separatist leader Mohammad Yasin Malik. On 25 May 2022, a court in India sentenced Malik to life imprisonment after convicting him of funding terrorism.
Fact or fiction?
To investigate the image in question, Soch Fact Check conducted a Google Reverse Image Search. The search led to an image posted on the website of photo agency Getty Images, here.
The caption of the image posted to the website reads, “Crowds and celebrities attend the March for Our Lives Rally on March 24, 2018 in Washington, DC.”
In March 2018, hundreds of people, including celebrities, joined a student-led demonstration, known as March for Our Lives, in demand of stricter gun control laws in the US.
The buildings visible in the photo include the Canadian Embassy on the right, and the Old Post Office Tower in the center, as can be seen in the Google Street View of Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC. It can therefore be confirmed that the image is from the Washington protest and is not linked to the Srinagar protest for Yasin Malik.
The image has been shared with the false caption here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here on Facebook between 25 May – 7 June 2022.
Conclusion: The image in question is not connected to a protest held in Srinagar following the recent sentencing of Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik. The image is from a 2018 protest organized in the US to demand stricter gun control laws across the country.