FactKhuji’s investigation reveals a photograph clicked in Cairo goes viral on Facebook in Bangladesh. It claims that a father in Dhaka is not finding treatment for his Covid 19 infected daughter!
Onwards 27 June 2020, a photograph showing a child lying down on the lap of a man started becoming viral on Facebook in Bangladesh. The post sharing the photograph claims that a helpless father waits sitting on a footpath in front of Dhaka city’s Mugda Hospital as he failed to admit his corona virus infected daughter to any hospital in the capital.The photograph shows a man is holding a toy in his one hand and a child is sleeping on his lap. FactKhuji’s research team finds this Facebook post a propaganda.
This photograph was originally captured by an Egyptian photojournalist named Fareed Kotb on the day of last Eid ul Fitr at Mohandessain District in Egypt’s capital Cairo. Later on 08 June 2020, the very photojournalist shared this photograph on Facebook by writing a post. Here is the link of that post:
https://www.facebook.com/Fareedkotb/posts/3201102729953122
As part of checking the authenticity of the photograph, the FactKhuji team contacted a Cairo-based senior journalist Nourhan Magdi Ibrahim who confirmed that this photograph was shot in Cairo and was shared on Facebook by photojournalist Fareed Kotb. Besides, photojournalist Fareed Kotb himself confirmed FactKhuji by sending an audio message via Facebook messenger that he clicked this photograph in Cairo and shared it on Facebook.
Journalist Nourhan Magdi Ibrahim who works for the Egypt Today Magazine informed FackKhuji that the man who is holding a child in the image is Ahmed Jamil Khalil. Mr. Khalil told the photographer that he was a homeless person and had been trying to find a job. The mother of the three-year-old girl left her when she was two-months old.
Journalist Ibrahim translated photojournalist Fareed Kotb’s related Facebook post for FactKhuji. It says that Ahmed Jamil Khalil has applied for a driving license and he is now waiting to receive it. It is taking a bit time to get the license as Khalil does not have an educational certificate.
Based on Fareed Kotb’s post on Facebook, the Al Jazeera all-Arabic channel published a detail report on the issue later on. Link of Al Jazeera’s report: https://bit.ly/31mq4g9
How this post went viral in Bangladesh?
The process of making this photograph a viral in Bangladesh was initiated on 27 June 2020 by a Facebook group titled mirsarainews24.com
(https://www.facebook.com/mirsarainews24/). Before this Facebook group removed the post, it was shared almost 100 times and more than 1,000 users reacted to it. Later, another Facebook page titled “Sangbadik Ilias Hossain Somorthokgoshthi” joined the process of making this photograph a viral. This link will take you there (https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3625965637430471&id=2829708853722824). Some 109 Facebook IDs shared a related post from this page while 502 persons reacted to it. Again, a Facebook ID titled Kuasha Chowdhury tried to make this post a viral in various Facebook groups. However, this ID [Kuasha Chowdhury] was found deactivated soon after the photograph went viral.
This photograph was also shared in some other Facebook groups and hundreds of Facebook users shared this post from their respective profiles.
