YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra was arrested for allegedly leaking sensitive information to Pakistani intelligence. Following her arrest, a photo of her with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi circulated online, prompting public outrage. But here’s the truth.
Days after Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra was arrested for espionage and allegedly leaking sensitive information to Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs), a picture of her with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has gone viral on social media.
The photograph linking Jyoti Malhotra and Rahul Gandhi was shared by several users on social media platform X, who wrote, “Rahul Gandhi with notorious YouTuber, Jyoti Malhotra!” Jumping on the bandwagon, others expressed outrage over Gandhi meeting Malhotra and questioned the ties between the Leader of the Opposition and the YouTuber, who has been booked under the Official Secrets Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Fact checking the viral photo: What’s the truth?
The photograph with Aditi Singh was published years ago, long before Jyoti Malhotra even started her YouTube channel. Aditi Singh had shared the same photo on social media in 2017. And it seems like the image that has been circulating online recently has been morphed to add Jyoti Malhotra’s face in place of Aditi Singh.
Several fact-checking portals have also verified the photo, tracing it back to the original image of Aditi Singh and Rahul Gandhi before it was doctored.
All about Jyoti Malhotra’s spying case
Jyoti Malhotra has reportedly confessed to having met PIOs during her trips to the neighbouring country. In her confession, she accepted meeting Danish at the Pakistan High Commission in India, and they have remained in touch since then.