Did Italian PM congratulate Hindus on Ram Mandir? No, viral clip shows her thanking followers for birthday wishes

Against the backdrop of the consecration ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, a clip of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni purportedly ‘congratulating’ the Hindus of India is viral on social media. In the clip Meloni is speaking in Italian. Verified handle @WokePandemic tweeted the video and said, “Italian PM Message to Hindus for Ram Mandir”. The tweet garnered close to 900000 views. (Archive)

Italian PM Message to Hindus for Ram Mandir ❤️@GiorgiaMeloni pic.twitter.com/w5lg9abjI7

— Eminent Woke (@WokePandemic) January 21, 2024

Another verified handle, @RealBababanaras, tweeted the same video with the same claim. Additionally they also purportedly translated what Meloni said: “Best wishes to the Hindus in India and around the world on the Pran Pratistha ceremony. By restoring your prestige after hundreds of years of struggle, you have set an example for the world. Lots of love.” (Archive)

Italian PM Giorgia Meloni Message to Hindus for Ram Mandir #RamMandirPranPratishta.#Translation : Best wishes to the Hindus in India and around the world on the Pran Pratistha ceremony. By restoring your prestige after hundreds of years of struggle, you have set an example for… pic.twitter.com/z5fQCG5rg1

— Baba Banaras™ (@RealBababanaras) January 21, 2024

Several other users circulated the same claim. (Archives- 1, 2, 3, 4)

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Fact Check

A reverse image search with one of the key frames of the viral video led us to a tweet by Giorgia Meloni from January 15, 2024, which was her birthday. The caption on the video reads, “Grazie. Siete la mia forza!” in Italian, which translates to ‘Thank you. You are my strength!’

Grazie. Siete la mia forza! pic.twitter.com/QbPIEXWwRo

— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) January 15, 2024

Users asked for the Italian video to be translated into English and Hindi using the Ez Dubs AI dubbing bot. In the English version, it can be seen that Meloni expressed gratitude to her followers for birthday wishes and encouragement, concluding with the message: “You are my strength, I love you.” The translated video does not mention the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony.

@daydreamer_akp Done! Here is your English dub: https://t.co/dxn5kmCuAF

📺🔴 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙏𝙪𝙗𝙚: https://t.co/NOojBAvkEA

💬🟢 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙨𝘼𝙥𝙥: https://t.co/S3vvLaDAyM

📱🔵 𝙏𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙢: https://t.co/znXbHu1u99 pic.twitter.com/JEbD38UzGk

— EzDubs (@ezdubs_bot) January 16, 2024

We also found several news reports related to the video tweeted by Giorgia Meloni. One can find reports here, here and here. We also found another video report by Il Sole 24 ORE where the description contained Meloni’s message: “”Grazie a tutti per gli auguri di compleanno che mi avete mandato privatamente, con i post sui social, davvero tanto incoraggiamento del quale farò tesoro, siete la mia forza, vi voglio bene”. The translation is “Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes you sent me privately, through social media posts—truly a lot of encouragement that I will treasure. You are my strength, I love you.” This also matches the dubbed version of the video.

Thus, a video of Italian PM Giorgia Meloni expressing her gratitude to her followers for birthday wishes in Italian is falsely viral as her congratulating the Hindus of India for the consecration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.