Fabricated Fracture: Viral Metro Rail Pillar Image Proven Fake
A photo of a metro rail pillar has recently gone viral on social media, with claims suggesting that the top portion of the structure has developed a crack and partially collapsed. The image is being widely circulated across various Facebook groups and individual accounts.
However, Rumor Scanner has confirmed that the alleged photo of the broken metro rail pillar is not authentic. Instead, it is a digitally altered version of another image. The original photograph did not show any structural collapse, but rather displayed what appeared to be a minor crack-like formation.
Upon investigation, reverse image searches yielded no evidence from credible media outlets or reliable sources validating the viral claim. One of the reverse searches led to a post made on May 31 in a Facebook group called Civil Engineering Classroom by a user named “Ayat Ullah.” The image was captioned “এগুলো ফাটল নাকি অন্যকিছু?” (“Are these cracks or something else?”). A side-by-side comparison of this image and the viral one reveals a perfect match in every detail, except for the digitally added “broken” portion. Even the marked identification segments align exactly.
The same photo was also circulated under the caption: “ফাটল ধরেছে মেট্রোরেলের পিলারে | মেট্রোরেল ও সংশ্লিষ্ট কর্তৃপক্ষের বিশেষ দৃষ্টি আকর্ষণ করছি মেট্রোরেলের | প্রতিটি পিলার যেন ভালো করে চেক করা হয়…” (“Cracks have appeared on a metro rail pillar. Urging the Metro Rail and relevant authorities to inspect every pillar carefully.”). The image still showed only a minor fissure rather than a collapse.
On June 2, a video allegedly showing repair work on pillar “P295” was posted in a metro rail-related Facebook group by the page Welcome Bangladesh. The footage showed minor crack repairs, but there was no sign of any significant structural damage resembling the viral photo’s claim.
Further investigation found the altered photo posted on May 31 in the BANGLADESH METRO RAILWAY INFORMATION (বাংলাদেশ মেট্রোরেলের তথ্য) Facebook group with the caption “এটা কি সত্যিই? লোকেশন শেওড়াপাড়া” (“Is this real? Location: Shewrapara”). In the comment section, a user named Sazzad Hossain responded with the same “broken” image, writing, “কিছুক্ষণ আগেই আমি এডিট করে মজা করে কমেন্ট করলাম আপনি আবার পোস্ট দিয়ে দিলেন” (“I just edited it as a joke and commented, but you ended up making a post with it”). This comment strongly suggests that the image was digitally manipulated by Sazzad Hossain himself. Attempts to contact him for clarification were unsuccessful.
Additionally, a Rumor Scanner team member physically visited the alleged location to inspect the pillar in question and found no evidence supporting the viral claim of severe damage or collapse.
This incident underscores the importance of verifying viral content and the potential consequences of misinformation, especially concerning public infrastructure.
