Rahul Gandhi’s images with Jyoti Malhotra, Haryana YouTuber accused of spying for Pakistan are edited

Both images are digitally altered.

Jyoti Malhotra, a travel vlogger and YouTuber from Haryana was arrested on 17 May, on charges of espionage for Pakistan. Against this backdrop, two images of Jyoti Malhotra with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi are going viral on social media.

Let’s check the truth

Twitter link| Archive link

Fact Check- 

First Image – We performed a reverse image search on the viral image and which led us to several news reports from almost all the major media outlets, dating back to at least 2018, sharing a similar image of Rae Bareli’s Congress-turned-BJP MLA Aditi Singh with Rahul Gandhi.

In 2018, there was also a fake news that she was going to marry Rahul Gandhi. Both the parties came forward to put an end to these rumours.

A comparison between the image shared in the post and the original image can be seen below. The face of YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who was arrested in Haryana, had been edited into the original image to replace Aditi Singh’s.

Similarly, the second image was taken when Rahul Gandhi met his supporters in Kerala during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Rahul Gandhi himself shared this on his official Facebook page on 18 September 2022. 

We have compared the original and altered images and added them below. It confirms that the viral image has been edited to make her look like Jyoti Malhotra. 

According to a report , this picture was taken during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. When Rahul Gandhi reached Alappuzha as part of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, he took a picture with a supporter.

The viral images showing Jyoti Malhotra with Rahul Gandhi are edited. In the original pictures, the first one features Rahul Gandhi with Rae Bareli MLA Aditi Singh, and the second is from the 2022 Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Conclusion- 

Fact Crescendo found that both images are digitally altered. The first image shows Aditi Singh, a politician from Rae Bareli while the second depicts Rahul Gandhi hugging a women supporter in Alappuzha, Kerala, as part of his Bharat Jodo Yatra.