Earlier this month, several BJP leaders and pro-Right social media users shared a video of Rahul Gandhi, in which he talks about not relying on his social media presence, claiming that the Congress leader was admitting that his social media followers and views were not organic.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala (@Shehzad_Ind) shared the video on his X handle and wrote, “‘I have a big social media presence, but I would not rely on that. That thing is a lot of fluff.’ Rahul Gandhi admits that his followers and views are not organic or Indian. Not a day goes by without him facing embarrassment.”
“I have a big Social Media Presence, but I would not rely on it. That thing is all Fluff”~ Rahul Gandhi accepts his followers and views are not organic or Indian!
Not a day goes without the embarrassment of shrill-nate ! 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/mSGPQPZ0nx
— Shehzad Jai Hind (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Shehzad_Ind) October 2, 2025
BJP spokesperson Radhika Khera shared the video on her X, Facebook, and Instagram accounts and wrote, “I’ve been saying this for a year, Congress’s social media is just the ‘air’ in a ‘balloon,’ and the ‘abusive lady’s’ ‘sparkling balloon’ was ‘burst with a pin’ by her own party’s ‘owner.'”
Other X users, who often share pro-BJP and pro-Right content, such as Jitendra Pratap Singh, Ajit Bharti, Sanatani Riddhi, @PoliticalKida, @Sarcasm_politic founder Ankur Singh, @FrontalForce, @PNRai1, @MumbaichaDon and @MeghUpdates also shared the video with similar claims.
Alt News has debunked false and misleading information by these users on several occasions.
Fact Check
A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video led us to a 2.5-hour-long livestream on the official YouTube channel of The Hindu from October 2, 2025. According to the description, Rahul Gandhi addressed a seminar on “The Future Is Today” at EIA University in Colombia. In his address, Gandhi discussed innovation, youth empowerment, and the challenges facing India in adapting to rapidly changing technological changes.
We carefully reviewed the entire video and found that the portion that is now viral appears between the 1:00:00 and 1:03:46-minute mark. At the 1:00:01-minute mark in the video, a person questions Rahul Gandhi about the role of AI, the future of youth in the digital world, becoming a social media influencer and creating jobs. At the end of the question, the person asks Rahul Gandhi if he has any final message for the youth that is important in the context of job creation.
Responding to this, Gandhi said, “Somebody yesterday asked me, ‘Why have you come to Colombia’? In the 21st century, it is very important to understand and observe different cultures because you would never know how you can connect or how and where you will connect with somebody until you actually go there. For me to say that I will connect with Colombia sitting in India or this is the type of relationship I’ll have with Colombia, that won’t work. So being open to other cultures, no matter how big or small, is very important.” Then, at the 01:02:30-minute mark in the video, Rahul Gandhi addresses the influencer issue, saying, “My personal opinion for those who are pursuing the role of influencers is enjoy yourselves, but please don’t rely on that, because that stuff will disappear. It’s temporary, it’s a temporary phenomenon. Make sure you have some resilient skills that you can depend on. The more specialised and unique your skills are, the easier it will be for you.”
At the 01:03:03-minute mark, he gives an example, saying, “If you’re a doctor, make sure you have some specialisation that nobody else has, because you’re probably the first generation that can sell that skill anywhere on the planet. You don’t just need to sell it in Colombia; you can sell it anywhere you want. So, you have the tools for massive marketing and massive projection, but you do need one or two or three skills that make you unique. I have a big social media presence, but I would not rely on that. That thing is a lot of fluff. Be careful.”
He then tells the attendees, “So, I would say that if you’re doing manufacturing here in Medellin, that’s great, and I wish you all the best.”
It’s clear from the above context that Gandhi was cautioning young people not to rely on quick fame via social media. He called social media engagement and fame temporary and urged the attendees to focus on skill development instead.
Thus, the video shared by many BJP spokespersons and Right-wing social media users is edited and shared out of context. Readers should note that clipped videos of Rahul Gandhi have previously gone viral on social media.
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