FACT CHECK: Does This Photo Show A Sikh Community Kitchen In Ukraine?
An image shared on Facebook purportedly shows a langar, or Sikh community kitchen, in Ukraine.
Verdict: False
The photo was taken in 2016 and shows a langar in Canada, not Ukraine.
Fact Check:
More than 800,000 Ukrainian citizens have fled due to the Russian invasion, according to BBC. The European Union (EU) estimates that up to 4 million Ukrainians may migrate into neighboring countries, the outlet reports.
The Facebook image shows a food cart named “Guru Nanak’s Langar Good Bye Hunger,” with a sign announcing free food on the side. “Sikhs have set up a mobile langar in war torn Ukraine named ‘Guru Nanak’s Langar’,” the post’s caption claims. A langar can either be defined as a dining hall in a gurdwara, a Sikh temple, or food served for free to all individuals as “a gesture of equality,” according to Dictionary.com.
The picture predates the conflict in Ukraine and was taken in Canada. A reverse image search revealed the image was originally uploaded to Facebook on Nov. 21, 2016 by a Facebook account titled, “The Desi Stuff.”
The logo and phone number on the truck belong to the Sikh Sewa Society Toronto, an Ontario-based nonprofit Sikh organization dedicated to ending hunger. Similar trucks can be seen in a December 2016 post and October 2016 post on the group’s Instagram. (RELATED: Does This Video Show A Ukrainian Girl Confronting A Russian Soldier?)
The Sewa Society shared a post to its Instagram Feb. 27 stating the photo had been taken in Brampton, Canada, not in Ukraine. “We would like to ask everyone not to spread misinformation during this time of crisis,” the post reads in part.
View this post on Instagram
The group added that it did not have any operations outside of Canada, but empathized “with the Ukrainian people during this time of crisis.”
Some organizations in the Sikh community, including the international non-profit Khalsa Aid, have given aid to those fleeing the country, according to The Indian Express.
