False: Photo captures Rahul Gandhi with Hindenburg Research founder Nathan Anderson proving Congress hatched a "conspiracy" against the Adani group.

Context

Share prices of Adani group of companies, one of India’s biggest business conglomerates, suffered a severe downfall after American activist short-seller and forensic financial research firm Hindenburg Research published a report on January 24, accusing the firm of accounting fraud and stock price manipulation over decades. The group's follow-on public offering (FPO) was eventually canceled by its founder Gautam Adami, and the Indian market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is reportedly looking into its alleged financial malpractices. Opposition parties have launched an attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government for favoring the Adani group in several deals and are calling for an investigation into what it has termed a scam against the common people of India.

Since the report was published, several sections of social media have been attempting to discredit Hindenburg Research and draw attention away from the controversy by making wild and misleading accusations about another business giant, the Azim Premji-led Wipro group. An attempt is also being made to link Hindenburg and its founder to the Congress party to claim that the party had hatched a "conspiracy against Adani." An image featuring Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with a man is being shared on Facebook and Twitter with the claim that the parliamentarian is posing with Hindenburg Research founder Nathan Anderson. Text written on the photo in Hindi states that the photo of Gandhi and "Nathan Anderson" together proves that the former was behind the report and the "conspiracy" against Adani.

In Fact

We found the viral claim to be false using a reverse image search. The photo shows Gandhi posing with Niels Annen, who was Germany's Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office till 2021. According to an NDTV report dated August 23, 2018, which carried the viral photo, the Congress leader visited Germany as part of his diaspora outreach program and met the German minister. They reportedly discussed politics, the then-flood situation in Kerala, the Goods and Services Tax, and unemployment in India. The visit was months before the 2019 parliamentary polls. 

Niels Annen also shared the photo from his Twitter Handle on August 22, 2018, and wrote, "Honored to receive ⁦ @INCIndia president⁩ ⁦ @RahulGandhi⁩ in my constituency #Eimsbüttel in Hamburg. India is a valued partner and close friend⁦ @AuswaertigesAmt ⁩ ⁦ @GermanyDiplo @GermanyinIndia⁩ #WillkommenRahulGandhi."

On August 22, 2018, Rahul Gandhi shared two photos from his Germany visit, including the now-viral image, on his Facebook account. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor and Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda could be seen in the other image with Niels Annen, Rahul Gandhi, and other delegates. As reported by NDTV, the Congress leader wrote in the caption: "Met Niels Annen, Minister of State of the Federal Foreign Office, and discussed politics, floods in Kerala, GST & Jobs." The same post was shared from Congress' official Twitter handle as well.

Furthermore, no news reports state that Rahul Gandhi has ever met Anderson or had any links to Hindenburg Research.

The Verdict

An image of Rahul Gandhi with German politician Niels Annen is being maliciously shared with the claim that the Congress leader met Hindenburg Research founder Nathan Anderson. This claim is false.