In this day and age of fake news, incorrect information can spread like wildfire. With the Ayodhya Ram Mandir foundation event around the corner, on August 5, it had become a buzzword among netizens.
And on Monday a new image, purportedly of New York's Times Square was shared by many including ProfitMart Director Avinash Gorakshakar who later deleted his post. Comments suggest that many had also come across it on WhatsApp. The rather badly edited photo suggests that Times Square Billboards had put up pictures of Lord Ram.
However, even a cursory glance reveals that it is fake as one of the posters has "Alamy Stock Photo" written along the bottom. This however was no deterrent and the picture was shared and reshared hundreds of times. N
And while some posted and others rushed to fact-check them, there is indeed some truth to the statement, in that Times Square will indeed have billboards featuring Lord Ramon August 5 as well as 3D portraits of the upcoming Ayodhya Temple. However, there has been no such initiative undertaken thus far, and if you receive the above image, rest assured that it is fake.
According to a Scroll article, around 20 US organisations as well as some individuals have written to New York Mayor, Bill de Blasio opposing the display.