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A photo has been shared by dozens of people on Facebook and Twitter claiming it shows the cremation of veteran Indian politician Mulayam Singh Yadav, who died on October 10 at the age of 82. The claim, however, is false. The image shows the funeral of the deceased father of an Indian journalist. Ashish Misra, an associate editor with the India Today group, told AFP he posted the original image on Facebook and Twitter on October 11 to inform people about his father's death. The photo with the false claim was shared on Facebook here on October 11, 2022. Its Hindi-language caption translates as: An important bond has been cut. A father’s death is unbearable for his son. A very painful time. Mulayam Singh Yadav’s body is cremated. Mulayam Singh Yadav was a former chief minister of India's largest state, Uttar Pradesh, and founder of the Samajwadi Party . He passed away on October 10 at the age of 82 after a prolonged illness, local media reported . Several users shared the post with captions suggesting that the image shows Yadav's son Akhilesh, who is also a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, performing the veteran politician's last rites. A screenshot of the misleading post taken on October 17, 2022 The image was also shared more than 240 times on Facebook here , here and here . A Hindi web portal also published the image here while reporting on Yadav’s death. The claim, however, is false. The image was originally posted on Facebook here by Ashish Misra, an associate editor with the India Today group. He informed people on October 11 of his father’s death and wrote in Hindi: Unfathomable sorrow and pain at this moment in my life. He also tweeted the image here and wrote: Feels like lightning struck as I hand over the source of my energy to the fire. Below is a comparison of the image in the misleading post (left) and the photo shared by Misra (right): Screenshot comparison of the image in the misleading post (left) and the photo shared by Misra (right) Misra told AFP that he is aware the photo has been falsely shared as showing Yadav’s funeral. My father expired the same day as Mulayam Singh Yadav, on October 10. I am aware that his image has been shared as Yadav’s cremation, people told me about it, Misra told AFP on October 14.
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