New Delhi: An independent digital media platform that vets social media posts has exposed the use of a Christian priest’s images linked to the ongoing farmers’ agitation.
The images of Father Jegath Kasper are being shared to show that the protesters are not real farmers but those trying to destabilize the government, reports The Logical Indian Fact-Check team on February 9.
The posts with three images in them — a Christian priest, another of a Hindu priest with Lord Ganesh’s idol in the background and the third with green scarfs — are viral on social media, especially on Twitter.
“The images are being shared claiming to be of the same person. It is being shared to portray that a Christian priest is involved in the ongoing farmers’ protest,” explains The Logical Indian.
The images are being shared with the caption in Hindi that says: “Sometimes Christian priest, sometimes preacher and sometimes agricultural revolutionist, The biggest dual personality till now.”
The media platform studied the images to find the truth about them.
“On doing a reverse image search, we found a YouTube video where the same image can be seen. It was published by the Arputhar Yesu Tv on May 1, 2018. According to the description of the video, the man in the video is a Christian priest, Father Jegath Kasper,” The Logical Indian says.
The reverse image search led to a YouTube channel named Arra TV where The Logical Indian found a video published on January 29, 2017, and image is, and the man in the video is Father Kasper.
The third image was part of an article published by ANI on April 28, 2018. According to the article, “JG Raj of Tamil Maiya Organisation blamed RSS for atrocities against Christian Community.”
The Logical Indian points out that the farmers’ protest started only in September 2020 after the Parliament passed the three farm laws. Hence, the images are not related to the ongoing protest, the media platform asserts.
The Logical Indian also found a Times of India YouTube news about the Tamil Maiya Organisation protest against the manhandling of two Christian priests inside a Hindu temple in Tamil Nadu’s Kanniyakumari district.
“In their protest, they also raised other issues including of Cauvery water issue. According to a website Haindava Keralam, Father Jegath Kasper is also known as JG Raj or Jegath Gasper Raj,” The Logical Indian explains.
The media platform then contacted Father Kasper, who it says, confirmed that the image is old.
“I have not visited the protest site in Delhi and its border, but I support farmers protest” The Logical Indian quotes the priest as saying. The priest also to the media platform that he had participated in symbolic farmers’ protest held in Tamil Nadu as he was called to deliver a speech there.
“Hence, all three images are of the same person, Father Jegath Kasper, but none of them is recent and it is not related to farmers’ protest,” The Logical Indian concludes.
Source: thelogicalindian.com