The Karnataka Police filed a FIR against BJP volunteer Shakunthala Nataraj for allegedly distributing a distorted photo of Kochi's Lulu Mall, saying that mall officials placed a larger Pakistan flag and all other flags, including India's, were smaller. While the BJP leader tagged Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar and claimed the incident occurred in Bengaluru's Lulu Mall, the photo was taken in Kerala's Lulu Mall. Outrage on social media prompted the resignation of Lulu Mall's marketing manager, who was later restored after fact-checking websites determined that the viral snapshot was deceptive.
Many social media users shared the photos of a larger Pakistan flag, despite fact-checking reports claiming that all of the flags were the same size, but the photo was taken from an angle that made the Pakistan flag appear larger than the others.
'I have a deep affection for my nation.'
Athira Nampiathiri, marketing manager at Lulu Mall, alleged in a LinkedIn post that she was laid off "due to baseless falsehoods and social media sensationalism."
"What began as a simple gesture of support for sportsmanship, using flags as decoration, morphed into a nightmare distortion that none of us could have predicted." We are devout, proud Indians who are completely devoted to our businesses. The reckless gossip and unconfirmed reports spreading on social media, on the other hand, have the ability to damage one's integrity and livelihood," Athira stated.
"My loss is a loss, but let no one be affected by this hatred," Athira added, expecting her post to become viral alongside the modified photograph.
The controversy began on Tuesday, and Athira resigned on Wednesday. She published another post on Friday, stating that she had been allowed to rejoin the Lulu Group after the viral photo was proven to be a forgery. "I want to thank everyone for your continuous support. I am very moved by our teamwork in countering the spread of misleading information on social media. "As a direct result of our collective efforts, I have been invited to rejoin Lulu Group as soon as possible," Athira wrote.
Lulu Group's chairman and managing director is MA Yusuf Ali. There are Lulu Malls in Kochi, Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Lucknow, and Hyderabad.
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