BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • Trending

The fake pictures of the Rohingya crisis

  • Published
    6 June 2015
Share page
About sharing
Migrants on the boat
Image caption,

This picture was all too real but several images online have been falsely attributed to the ongoing Rohingya crisis

By BBC Trending
What's popular and why

The plight of Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar was thrust into the spotlight last month after thousands of migrants were left stranded at sea - but not all the images being shared online are what they seem to be.

The Rohingyas are a distinct Muslim ethnic group mainly living in Myanmar, also known as Burma. They are not recognised as citizens of Myanmar and face persecution in the majority Buddhist country, where many live in crowded camps. Powerful and seemingly genuine pictures and videos emerged of what Rohingyas must endure in Myanmar after thousands of migrants were left adrift with low supplies of food and water last month. But BBC Trending found some of the images being shared online don't show Rohingyas at all - but instead come from other disasters and news events.

Many of these images are graphic and disturbing. One of the photos, for instance, that shows up in search results shows Buddhist monks standing among piles of body parts. On Facebook and Twitter, the photograph has been cited as an example of Buddhist violence against Rohingyas. But the picture is not from Burma at all - it was actually taken in the aftermath of an earthquake, external in China in April 2010.

Another picture shows a man on fire running across the road. One group that shared the photo on Facebook suggesting the man suffered horrific abuse - that he was chopped up and burnt alive. But the real story is much different. In fact, the photo is of Jamphel Yeshi, a Tibetan activist who set himself on fire in Delhi in 2012 to protest against the Chinese president's visit to India.

There are many disturbing pictures of children circulating as well. One shows a boy tied to a wooden pole, with the marks of beatings visible across his back. While online posts call him a Rohingya boy, he's actually a seven-year-old Thai child who was beaten up by a relative for stealing sweets earlier this year.

Then there's this photo which has been widely shared, particularly in India and Pakistan, showing a motorcycle riding across the hands of school students who are lying on the ground with outstretched arms. The incident was actually a stunt by a martial arts trainer in south India, external:

An AFP photo of a motorcycle stunt in an Indian school is shared with the message 'Burma's Muslims'Image source, AFP
Image caption,

The caption reads "Burma's Muslims" in Urdu ...

Screenshot of BBC story of 'stunts' banned in India schools
Image caption,

... however it's really an AFP photo of a stunt in India, as the BBC reported in 2009

Other misleading images traced by BBC Trending using online photo search tools include a large crowd of people laying on the ground (actually of protesters being detained in Thailand in 2004), one showing burnt bodies (in reality from an oil tanker blaze in 2010 in the Democratic Republic of Congo) and a grisly photo of children with bloodstained clothes which apparently comes from Sri Lanka's decades-long conflict. These and other images have been shared thousands of times on Facebook mostly by people hoping to support the Rohingyas.

"We appreciate everyone's concern but encourage everybody to always check carefully before using images," says UK-based Rohingya activist and blogger Jamila Hanan, external. "Whenever the Rohingya hits media headlines these same photos are redistributed with some new ones included."

"There are so many genuine images of tragic scenes of the Rohingya that are genuine, there is simply no need for anyone to fabricate anything," Hanan told BBC Trending. "The most tragic images are the real ones."

Blog by Samiha Nettikkara, external

Next story: Is it OK to humiliate your child online?

Wayman Gresham's anti-shaming video has been viewed more than 20m timesImage source, Wayman Gresham

Amidst a deluge of child shaming videos, one American dad's anti-humiliation film has been viewed millions of times. READ MORE

Follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, external, and find us on Facebook, external.

Top stories

  • Live. 

    Storm Floris bringing 'unseasonably strong' winds to parts of the UK

    • 1421 viewing1.4k viewing
  • Government pledges extra £100m to tackle people smuggling

    • Published
      53 minutes ago
  • I regret taking my son to a riot following Southport attack, says stepmother

    • Published
      51 minutes ago

More to explore

  • Hackers, secret cables and security fears: The explosive fight over the UK's new Chinese embassy

    A collage image of the Royal Mint, and embassy protests and Xi Jinping
  • Mission begins to save snails threatened by own beauty

    The image is a close-up of a snail on a branch in the forest. The snail is strikingly colourful, with a bright, vibrant red shell with black and white coiling bands and a yellow centre.
  • 'Wembley tragedy' and 'extra £100m will not stop boats'

    The front page of the Sun is pictured with the headline "Oasis fan plunges to death". Also seen is the Daily Express cover which says "an extra £100bn will not stop the boats"
  • The big fat 'fake' Indian wedding - Gen Z's latest party trend

    A man and a woman sitting at a fake wedding celebration
  • Car loan scandal payouts row - what's it about?

    Man and a woman in smart clothing talk in a car dealership, standing between new cars
  • Attenborough gives 'family feels' in new show Parenthood

    A father lion patiently playing with his young cub
  • Their children can't eat, speak or walk - so forgotten Zika mothers raise them together

    Mum and son with congenital Zika syndrome
  • Tan lines. Once hidden, now sought after, but can they make a safe comeback?

    Tan lines on a woman's back
  • Summer Essential: Your family’s guide to the summer, delivered to your inbox every Tuesday

    concentric circles ranging from orange to yellow to represent the sun, with a blue sky background
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    'Wembley tragedy' and 'extra £100m will not stop boats'

  2. 2

    I regret taking my son to a riot following Southport attack, says stepmother

  3. 3

    Weather warnings as Storm Floris to disrupt travel

  4. 4

    Man dies after fall at Oasis Wembley concert

  5. 5

    F1 tycoon pleads guilty in rare Singapore corruption case

  6. 6

    Hackers, secret cables and security fears: The explosive fight over the UK's new Chinese embassy

  7. 7

    Leaders condemn videos of emaciated hostages as Red Cross calls for access

  8. 8

    BBC finds electrocuted, drowned and starved cats in online torture groups

  9. 9

    'I'm in control of my sexual health' - UK gonorrhoea vaccine rollout begins

  10. 10

    Chinese university students told to spy on classmates, report says

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • A new disappearance reopens old wounds

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    The Gone
  • Inside DOOM, the controversial 90s game

    • Attribution
      Sounds
    Witness History: The Release of DOOM
  • A classic, nostalgic time-travel adventure

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Back to the Future
  • What do your dreams say about you?

    • Attribution
      Sounds
    The Dream Team with Vinny and Cate
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.