Jyoti Malhotra, a YouTuber from Haryana, has been arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan. Several videos and photos of Jyoti Malhotra’s visit to Pakistan are going viral on social media. Meanwhile, a photo featuring actresses Alia Bhatt and Pooja Bhatt is being shared with the claim that the woman with them is Jyoti Malhotra.
Social media users are criticizing Alia and Pooja while sharing this photo and demanding an investigation. A user on Facebook wrote, “Jyoti Malhotra with Alia Bhatt.”
On X (formerly Twitter), one user wrote: “Connect the dots… There’s a photo of Jyoti Malhotra with Alia Bhatt and possibly Pooja Bhatt. Second, when the 26/11 attack happened, American terrorist David Headley had warned Mahesh Bhatt’s son not to go to South Mumbai that day. If this news is true, then these Bollywood people should also be investigated.”
Fact Check:
To verify the viral photo, the DFRAC team conducted a reverse image search using Google Lens. In our investigation, we found that the woman seen with Alia Bhatt and Pooja Bhatt in the photo is not Jyoti Malhotra. The woman in the photo with Alia and Pooja is journalist and author Rana Ayyub. Rana Ayyub posted this picture on her X handle (formerly Twitter) on November 27, 2014.
Conclusion:
DFRAC’s fact check clearly shows that the woman seen with Alia Bhatt and Pooja Bhatt in the viral photo is not YouTuber Jyoti but journalist Rana Ayyub. Therefore, social media users’ claims are misleading.
