New Delhi: An image of a Kochi mall was allegedly distorted to insinuate that it had displayed a bigger Pakistan national flag than those of other countries, on the occasion of the cricket world up – costing its manager his job, The Telegraph has reported.As part of its world cup promotion efforts, the Lulu Mall in Kochi – owned by the Abu Dhabi-based LuLu Group International – had put up flags of participating countries.The report says that images uploaded on social media by the mall itself and several social media users showed that the flags were all of equal size. However, an image taken from an angle that purported to make the Pakistani flag look bigger began circulating on social media, kicking off a campaign online which targeted the mall and the Muslim community.Journalist, Alt News founder and fact-checker Mohammed Zubair was one who took to X to identify the Hindutva commentators who were spreading a false depiction of the flags, noting that “all the flags were of same size.”A lot of right wing influencers like @pradip103 @pratheesh_Hind have shared this image from Lulu Mall, Kochi, Kerala where a Pakistani flag looks* like it is placed higher than Indian Flag and it looks* bigger in size too. But this isn’t the case. All the flags were of same size… pic.twitter.com/YEmrGhgph0— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) October 10, 2023Zubair also noted that while Asianet Kannada reported on the fake news, its Malayalam wing highlighted the fact-check.Fake News by Asianet in Kannada.Fact check by Asianet in Malayalam. @AsianetNewsSN @AsianetNewsML pic.twitter.com/DXsvYIdw46— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) October 11, 2023Now, Telegraph reports that the controversy led the mall’s marketing manager, Athira Nampiathiri, to step down.Lulu Mall’s media head for the country, however, told the paper that she had not been asked to resign.“After dedicating a whole decade to a company with an unwavering passion, it pains me to find myself not working one day, all because of baseless falsehoods and social media sensationalism,” she wrote on LinkedIn, the social media website.“I implore you all , to please refrain from propagating hatred and abstain from engaging in activities that could ruin the careers and lives of individuals. Let us stand together to champion truth and fairness in this digital age,” she further added.