LuLu Mall Pakistan Flag : Social media posts claiming that Kerala-based LuLu Mall has kept Pakistan’s flag above that of other countries, including India, as part of the ongoing ICC Men’s ODI Cricket World Cup 2023 display are false.
ICC Cricket ODI World Cup 2023 will be held in India and 10 countries will participate in the tournament which started on 5th October 2023 and will end on 19th November.
A photograph of a Pakistani flag raised vertically from the ceiling of an atrium, appearing to be higher than the Indian and Dutch flags, went viral on X (formerly Twitter) for making a false and communal claim.
Viral posts on X and Facebook captioned “Lulu Mall, Cochin put up a huge Paxtan flag and a small Indian flag. When it backfired on them, they removed both flags because you can’t be without India. P… I mean who P. are you interested??” (sic)
The same photo was also posted on X by Pradeep Bhandari, a right-wing political analyst who claimed, “This photo is from a Lulu mall in Kerala. The Pakistani flag was placed over the tricolor to mark the ongoing Cricket World Cup. This is a violation of the ticket code and should be looked into by the relevant authorities.
LuLu Mall Pakistan Flag : FACT CHECK
Hindustan Scoop found that at the LuLu mall in Kochi, the national flags of all the countries participating in the World Cup were placed at the same height.
We contacted a representative of LuLu Mall in Kochi, who sent us an official statement denying the virus claim, along with several screenshots taken on October 10, 2023.
The picture taken from the ground shows that all the flags were at the same height.
LuLu Mall is owned by UAE-based Indian businessman and billionaire Yusuf Ali MA, whose group has several malls across the country, including Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Lulu’s group has been the target of right-wing misinformation on social media. Hindustan Scoop also earlier exposed misinformation related to LuLu mall in Lucknow in July 2022 when social media spread a hoax claiming that three Hindu men identified in a police circular disguised themselves as Muslims and offered namaz at LuLu mall.
