An image of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) workers providing relief material is being shared on social media with a claim that it is from the recent Uttarakhand flash flood tragedy. However, we found that the said image is from 2013, when RSS volunteers helped in relief work during the 2013 Uttarakhand floods.
CLAIM
The said image, which is widely being shared on Facebook and Twitter with the claim: “#RSS volunteers helping peoples in Uttarakhand glacier burst tragedy (sic).”
WHAT WE FOUND
We ran a reverse image search on the viral photograph and found a blogpost from 2013, which carried this image. According to the blogpost, the image shows RSS volunteers helping with relief work during the 2013 Uttarakhand floods.
Next, we searched Google with ‘RSS helping in Uttarakhand 2013’ and found the image on another website called India Documents, which focused on the role of RSS in the 2013 Uttarakhand flooding disaster management, which carried this image.
Further, several news reports from 2013 have documented the role of the organisation in supplying relief material to the flood affected areas.
We also looked for news reports detailing the role of RSS, if any, in providing relief material in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, which was hit by a flash flood tragedy on 7 February, but couldn’t find any reports. Even the RSS website has no mention of it.
Clearly, an old image from 2013 is being shared to falsely claim that it shows RSS volunteers helping in supplying relief material after the Uttarakhand flash flood tragedy.
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