A photo of a purported advertisement banner of Amul was recently shared on social media, with users claiming that it featured cartoons depicting Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and mocked the Congress party. However, the PTI Fact Check Desk’s investigation found that an old advertisement by Amul was digitally altered to create the viral image, which was shared on social media with a false claim.

Claim

A Facebook user shared on December 17 a photo of a purported billboard ad by Amul, claiming that it featured Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to mock Congress party.

“Top class Advt with real meaning what happened and is happening,” read the caption of the post.

The Hindi text on the banner translated to: “Grandfather ate, grandmother ate, father ate, mother ate and sister you also eat and call brother-in-law.” It is used to take a dig at the Gandhi family insinuating the alleged corruption by the family members.

Here is the link and archive link to the post, and below is a screenshot of the same.

Investigation

The Desk ran the viral photo through Google Lens and found that several other users had shared the same photo with similar claims.

Two such posts can be seen here and here, and their archived versions can be viewed here and here, respectively.

In the next part of investigation, the Desk performed a customised keyword search and came across an advertisement shared by the company on its X (formerly Twitter) accounton January 24, 2019.

Back then, the company had actually run an ad regarding Priyanka Gandhi’s entry into mainstream politics when she was appointed as the general secretary of the Congress UP East. It featured cartoons of Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, but no slogan was mentioned on it.

Here is the link and archive link to Amul’s ad, and below is its screenshot.

Below is a combination image, comparing the photo in the viral clip with the photo in the news report.

Furthermore, we found that the same edited photo had gone viral in 2019 and the company had termed it “fake”.

“Dear Sir, It is a fake post. Amul has not released this Topical. The original topical is shared below”

Here is the link and archive link, and below is the screenshot of the same. 

Subsequently, the Desk concluded that an old advertisement by Amul was digitally altered and shared on social media with a false claim.

Claim: Amul ad mocking Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Fact: A 2019 ad released by the company was digitally altered and used in the viral photo.

Conclusion: Multiple social media users shared a purported photo of an Amul billboard featuring cartoons of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and claimed that it mocked Congress party. In its investigation, the Desk found that an Amul ad, dating back to 2019, was digitally altered and shared on social media with a false claim.

(This story was originally published by Press Trust Of India, and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective)
 

Amul has a turnover of ₹80,000 crore and is now ranked as the strongest dairy and food brand globally, owned by 36 lakh farmers
| Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI

Amul will enter the European market by the end of this month after launching its products in the US, GCMMF Managing Director Jayen S Mehta said on Monday.

The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) sells its dairy products under the popular Amul brand.

Also read | Amul goes global: A look at the dairy giant’s journey from Kaira to U.S.

“We will be launching milk…fresh products in Europe by the end of this month,” he said at the annual convocation of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) here.

The company will launch the products in Spain first and then look at expanding to other countries in Europe.

He also said that non-tariff barriers are being faced by the Indian dairy industry in other countries and removal of those will help in increasing exports.

“Try to create a market opportunity for us,” Mehta said adding that milk is a source of livelihood for more than 10 crore families in the country and most of the producers are small and marginal farmers.

India allows the import of dairy goods at a 30% duty.

Amul has a turnover of ₹80,000 crore and is now ranked as the strongest dairy and food brand globally, owned by 36 lakh farmers, he claimed.

In March, GCMMF launched four variants of milk in the US market to cater to the Indian diaspora and Asian population.

New Delhi:

 The Delhi High Court has directed a social media user, a woman, to take down a post from X alleging a centipede in Amul ice cream. It also restrained the woman and others from making such posts on social platforms.

The Delhi High Court said in an order on Thursday.

The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Limited moved against the user and sought a direction for the removal of the post on X. The high court passed an ex-parte order noting the non-appearance of defendants.

Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora directed the removal of the social media post uploaded by them on defendant Deepa Devi’s X account titled @Deepadi11 within three days from the date of passing of this order.

The High Court has restrained Deepa Devi and other defendants from posting any content identical or similar to the said post on the X or any other social media platform, including Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, until further orders.

“The defendant nos. 1 and 2 are further restrained from publishing or causing to publish any content with regard to the plaintiff or plaintiff’s product with respect to the incidents referred to in the plaint, anywhere on the internet or in print or electronic media until further orders,” Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said in an order passed on July 4.

Senior counsel Sunil Dalal, for the plaintiff federation, stated that numerous stringent quality checks have been employed by the plaintiff at every stage, from procurement of raw milk from farmers to the manufacturing of ice cream at the plaintiff’s state-of-the-art ISO-certified plants, till the loading of finished products in specially designed temperature-controlled refrigerated vans.

It was also submitted that the stringent quality checks completely and absolutely ensure that no physical, bacterial, or chemical contamination whatsoever is introduced to the product and also ensure that each product conforms to the standards laid out by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

He further stated that stringent inspection is done at every stage, from milking cattle till packaging and loading, and stringent quality inspection is carried out. Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for any foreign substance, let alone an insect, to be present in an AMUL ice cream tub packed at the facility.

The High Court noted that a representative met the defendants but they refused to hand over the subject Amul ice cream tub so that it could be tested to verify their claims.

It was stated that the plaintiff was willing to investigate the matter to ascertain the veracity of the claims of defendants 1 and 2. However, they refused to make available the said ice cream tub to the officials of the plaintiff.

The defendants no. 1 and 2 did not appear before the court despite the issuance of summons.

The bench said that it is a matter of record that defendants were served with an advance copy of the suit record in June 2024 by the counsel for the plaintiff prior to its first listing on June 28; however, none appeared for them either on June 28 or July 1.

The matter has been listed for hearing on July 22.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)