Fact-Check: Man Posing With Kangana Ranaut Is Not Gangster Abu Salem

A photo of Bollywood actor and BJP's Mandi candidate Kangana Ranaut posing with a man has gone viral on social media amid the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

What is the claim?

The photo is being shared with the claim that Kangana Ranaut was seen with incarcerated gangster Abu Salem.

(Archives of more claims on social media can be seen here, here, and here)

Is it true? No, the man in the photo is not the notorious gangster. He is Mark Manuel, the former entertainment editor of The Times of India.

How did we find out?

The Quint debunked this in 2020 when the photograph went viral with the same claim.

While looking for more claims with the keywords 'Kangana Ranaut Abu Salem', we found a Facebook post by one Mark Manuel.

Sharing a post in September 2020, Mr Manuel shared the viral photo, with screenshots of several fact-checks, clarifying that he was the man in the picture with Kangana Ranaut.

On comparing this viral photograph to one of Abu Salem's, we saw that the two men did not share any physical resemblance.

Under a claim shared in 2023, Ms Ranaut had clarified that the photograph was of Mark Manuel and not Abu Salem.

Conclusion

The photo of Kangana Ranaut with journalist Mark Manuel went viral with the false claim that the man is gangster Abu Salem.