Misleading Claim
On the eve of the Cricket World Cup, a photograph from Lulu mall was viral to claim that it had flown a larger Pakistani national flag than those of other nations.
It stated that at a mall called ‘Lulu mall’ in Kerala, the larger Pakistani national flag was positioned above the smaller Indian tricolour to celebrate the ongoing Cricket World Cup.
Several tweets were made by verified accounts on twitter, which made the same claim sharing the picture.
Political analyst Pradeep Bhandari also shared the picture with the caption, “This picture is from Lulu Mall in Kerala. Pakistan’s flag was displayed & placed above the tricolour to celebrate the ongoing cricket World Cup. This is a breach of the flag code, concerned authorities should take note” . The tweet received over 1.1 million views, 2,37,000 likes and 1,17,000 retweets. He later deleted the tweet. (Archive)
Various tweets were made by many other users as well as the outrage was sparked by the fact that, in contravention of the Indian Flag Code, the Indian Tricolour was displayed at a lower altitude than Pakistan’s flag. The fact that Pakistan’s flag was hoisted above the Tricolour drew criticism from several users.
Twitter users, including hemirdesai, Incognito_qfs , BellamSwathi, pratheesh_Hind criticised after sharing the post to X.
Was the rumor true which went viral on the social media? No.
False social media posts allege that as part of their exhibit for the upcoming ICC men’s ODI cricket World Cup 2023, LuLu Mall in Kerala positioned the Pakistani flag above the flags of other nations, including India.
The Lulu Mall had displayed the flags of the competing nations as part of its world cup promotion activities. The flags of India and Pakistan attracted the attention of onlookers, despite the fact that other flags of Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and England were also visible.
According to reports, photographs posted on social media by the mall and other users revealed that the flags were all the same size. However, one image taken from a different angle that promised to make the Pakistani flag appear larger began circulating on social media, launching an online campaign that targeted the mall and the Muslim community.
asianet news also clarifies in the article that the claim made by the users that Pakistani flag is hung higher as part of the Cricket Workd Cup is fake.
According to D-Intent Data, it was properly verified that the image was deceptive and the fact that the flag of Pakistan seemed larger than that of India is false.
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— D-Intent Data (@dintentdata) October 10, 2023
ANALYSIS: Misleading
FACT: An image featuring the national flags of different countries has been shared, claiming that the smaller sized Indian tricolor was placed below the bigger Pakistani national flag at a mall named Lulu in Kerala. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/H47IXQrmCL
Intent
To set the agenda, sounusual perspective that enlarge the Pakistani flag.To set the tone, social media influencers are sharing photos taken from an unusual perspective that enlarge the Pakistani flag.
Conclusion
Claim: The smaller Indian tricolour was allegedly positioned beneath the larger Pakistani national flag at Lulu mall, Kerala. This is according to an image that has been circulated that shows the flags of several nations.
Fact: The truth is that a particular angle was used to capture this picture. Images from the mall made clear that the Indian flag was the same size as the flags of every country competing in the World Cup and was positioned at the same height.
