Two images of Rahul Gandhi have circulated in social media posts falsely claiming they are proof that the Indian opposition Congress party leader had posed for photos with a YouTuber arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan. They surfaced after four days of fighting between the nuclear-armed foes, but the originals show the visuals were altered to insert the YouTuber’s face.<\/h3>\n
The Hindi-language Facebook<\/a> post shared on May 21, 2025 says Indian YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra\u00a0can be seen with Gandhi in the images (archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n “What a strange coincidence that every traitor and anti-national is seen with Rahul Gandhi!” it says. “Is Rahul Gandhi the mastermind behind the turmoil in the country?”<\/p>\n Screenshot of the false post, captured on May 23, 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The post surfaced after Indian authorities accused<\/a> Malhotra and ten other people of leaking military information to Pakistan (archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n The nuclear-armed foes agreed to a ceasefire<\/a> on May 10, ending four days of intense fighting that claimed over 70 lives on both sides (archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n Fighting erupted two weeks after an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir killed 26 people, which India blamed on Pakistan but denied by Islamabad.<\/p>\n The image was shared with similar claims elsewhere on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>, X<\/a> and Threads<\/a>, with comments showing some users believed it was genuine.<\/p>\n “I have noticed one thing … wherever treason is mentioned, Congress is mentioned too,” one comment said.<\/p>\n Another wrote, “Congress headquarters is a training centre for traitors.”<\/p>\n But a\u00a0reverse image search<\/a> on Google revealed the images had been altered.<\/p>\n State lawmaker Aditi Singh shared the first picture on Facebook<\/a> on December 16, 2017 when she was a member of the Congress party before joining the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2021 (archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n The photo’s caption reads, “Many congratulations and best wishes to Honourable Rahul Gandhi. Jai Hind!”<\/p>\n