Fact Check: Viral image falsely claims women journalists attended Afghan Embassy press meet

Muttaqi is in India for a six-day visit, from October 9 to October 16, as part of efforts to improve ties between the two countries. This meeting marks a cautious step by India in dealing with the Taliban-led Afghanistan, showing both the sensitivity and complexity of future relations between them.

In this situation, an image showing several people attending a meeting seated in a big hall is going viral on social media with the claim that women journalists were seen in the press conference of Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amri Khan Muttaqi, organised by the Afghanistan embassy.

Several social media users shared the image with the caption in Hindi that goes “सत्य यह भी है कि अफगानिस्तान के विदेश मंत्री की प्रेस कांफ्रेंस में महिला रिपोर्टर्स उपस्थित थीं। फोटो देखिये

और गिन लीजिये कितनी महिलाएं हैं... मुझे तो 8-10 दिख रही हैं। परंतु मोदी विरोध के रोग से पीड़ित हमारे विपक्ष को नहीं दिखी। “

Some users shared the same image with caption “Who are they? If female journalists weren't allowed at the Afghanistan Embassy, New Delhi.”

Here is the screenshot of the claim.

Fact check:

The claim is Misleading. The viral image shows an event conducted at Vivekananda International Foundation headquarters in New Delhi attended by Muttaqi.

When we searched the image using reverse image search, we found a post by person from Afghanistan sharing the same image along with others with the caption “The country's Foreign Minister also visited the VIF headquarters today, and in discussions with the officials and leaders of the Indian branch of VIF, he provided information about the deep economic, historical, cultural and civilizational ties between the two countries. VIF wrote on its X page that during his speech, Afghan Foreign Minister Maulvi Amir Khan Muttaqi also mentioned the famous story of Indian poet and writer Rabindranath Tagore, which touched their hearts. Tagore's "Kabliwala" is a very famous literary work that tells the story of the life and feelings of an Afghan businessman, an Afghan who comes to India, forms a friendly relationship with a small Indian child, his story has become a symbol of shared values ​​of humanity, love and emotion. VIF is an Indian intellectual, research institution, a think-tank in English that conducts research in the fields of public policies, security, foreign relations, economy, civilization and culture and presents policy recommendations to the government”

Another X user also shared the same image with caption “Female Media journos was there in vif event. Indian govt can't dictate Afghanistan fm what he should do in Afghanistan embassy.”

When we searched using keywords VIF + Afghan Minister, we found X post by VIF India (Vivekananda International Foundation) with caption “Highlights from today's interaction at the VIF with Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister, H.E. Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi. The conversation underscored the deep economic, historical, cultural, and civilizational ties between the two countries. His mention of Rabindranath Tagore's Kabuliwala struck a poignant chord with the audience.”

According to India.com, Amir Khan Muttaqi attended an event organised by the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) in New Delhi. The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) was founded in 2009 under the aegis of the Vivekananda Kendra, a spiritual organisation founded by Eknath Ranade, a prominent RSS leader in the 1970s, and is considered an RSS affiliate.

Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi called another press conference in New Delhi on Sunday, inviting women journalists this time, after facing backlash for their exclusion from his earlier media interaction.

Hence, the viral image does not show press conference organised by Afghanistan Minister at Afghan Embassy, but shows the meeting of Afghan Minister present at an event at Vivekananda International Foundation, where women journalists were present. The claim is Misleading.