Mumbai, June 28: Technology is growing by leaps and bound, and with the advent of social media, fake news is spreading rapidly like wildfire. Fake news on various platforms is of great concern as it leads to panic and fear among the masses. One such fake news claims that Mumbai's Mithi river is being filled with plastic waste. An image of a river choked with plastic garbage is going viral on social media in India with false claim. The viral post, which compares Ahmedabad's Sabarmati riverfront and Mumbai's Mithi river "filled with garbage", is fake.

The picture of a plastic-choked river is from Manila, Philippines. Notably, BJP leader Priti Gandhi also shared the image with a false claim that the Mithi river was choked with plastic waste. Apart from Gandhi several other social media users shared the image with similar claims. Centre Considering to Bifurcate Uttar Pradesh in 2-3 Parts? PIB Fact Check Debunks Fake News, Reveals Truth.

Tweets With False Claim:

According to Boom Live, the photo of the garbage-filled river isold. On June 20, 2019, Norwegian diplomat Erik Solheim shared the image along with the BBC news article titled – "A simple online system that could end plastic pollution". The article also carries the same image with a caption, "Many of the poorest communities are the most affected by plastic waste".

Tweet by Norwegian diplomat Erik Solheim in 2019: 

The image is actually clicked in 2008. As per the media house, the image was also found on the website of Shutterstock. The image on the Shutterstock website carries the caption, "A river of garbage prevents the flow of water on January 6, 2008, in Manila, Philippines. Poverty and garbage disposal are major issues in the Philippines."

Recently, a purported video with a misleading claim that a centuries-old manuscript discovered during excavation at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya. The video was being shared widely by multiple social media users in India with the claim that the manuscript inscribed on copper is in Sanskrit and belongs to Ram Temple. According to a report by India Today report, the manuscript is in the Hebrew language, and it was not evacuated from the Ram Temple site.

Fact check

Mumbai's Mithi River Filled With Garbage And Plastic Waste? Old Image From Philippines Goes Viral With False Claim
Claim :

Mumbai's Mithi river is filled with garbage and plastic waste.

Conclusion :

The claim made in the viral post is fake. It is an old image from Philippines.

Full of Trash
Clean

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 28, 2021 04:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).