Channel i photocard makes false claim about Sania Mirza

A photocard has recently spread on social media claiming that Sania Mirza, a former tennis star of India, has donated land to build a mosque in Hyderabad. Multiple news outlets and online news portals have also posted the photocard with the same claim. However, Dismislab’s verification found that the circulated claim is false.

The photocard was posted on Facebook on October 27 from a page named “HelloBangla.news.” The photocard also shows a photograph of Sania Mirza with former Indian cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin, in which they are laying a foundation stone. The photocard’s headline reads, “Sania Mirza has donated land for the construction of a mosque in Hyderabad, India.”

The Sania Mirza photocard was also posted from the Facebook pages of “Tubelight Media” and “Channel i”. The Tubelight Media post states, “Former Indian tennis star Sania Mirza has taken the initiative to build a mosque on her own land, which was purchased to build a tennis academy. She has not only donated the land but also announced that she will bear the entire cost of building this mosque herself. The foundation stone of this mosque was recently laid in Hyderabad, India, by the country’s former cricketer and Telangana minister Mohammad Azharuddin. As there was no large mosque in the area concerned, local residents had to travel a long way to offer prayers (namaz) until now. The star, a six-time Grand Slam winner, has made this decision to reduce that hardship of the locals.” (Verbatim)

The photocard was posted with the same claim from multiple Facebook pages, profiles, and groups (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7).

On Indian social media as well (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), multiple posts were made with the claim that Sania Mirza was building a mosque on land set aside for a tennis academy.

Dismislab conducted relevant keyword searches to verify the claim. This led to an image of a written post made on October 29 from the verified Instagram account of Sania Mirza’s father, Imran Mirza. In it, he declares the reports about the construction of a mosque spreading on social media to be false. In the post, he states that there is no plan to build a mosque on the land set aside for the tennis academy. It is mentioned that the photograph of former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin and Sania Mirza that has spread was created using AI. At the same time, Imran Mirza states that Sania or her family have the full right to use any land they purchase as they see fit. According to Imran Mirza, Sania’s philanthropic work is a private and confidential matter. No one has the right to make it public without her consent. He has called on users to refrain from spreading false information on this matter.

In other words, confusion is being spread by circulating the false claim that Sania Mirza donated land for the construction of a mosque in Hyderabad.