{"id":72882,"date":"2020-08-12T17:14:24","date_gmt":"2020-08-12T11:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=72882"},"modified":"2020-08-12T17:40:42","modified_gmt":"2020-08-12T12:10:42","slug":"new-zealand-pms-visit-to-hindu-temple-ahead-of-national-elections-viral-with-covid-spin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/new-zealand-pms-visit-to-hindu-temple-ahead-of-national-elections-viral-with-covid-spin\/","title":{"rendered":"New Zealand PM&#8217;s visit to Hindu temple ahead of national elections viral with COVID spin"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A three-minute video of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in a Hindu temple has gone viral. Several social media users on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/search?q=%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%9C%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%88%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%A1%20%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%80%20PM%20%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B6%20%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE%20%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A119%20%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%20%E0%A4%98%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A4%20%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%87%20%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%87%20%E0%A4%AC%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A6%20%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%82%20%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B0%20%E0%A4%97%E0%A4%88&amp;src=typed_query&amp;f=live\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Twitter<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/search\/top\/?q=%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%9C%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%88%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%A1%20%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%80%20PM%20%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B6%20%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE%20%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A119%20%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%20%E0%A4%98%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A4%20%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%87%20%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%87%20%E0%A4%AC%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A6%20%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%82%20%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B0%20%E0%A4%97%E0%A4%88&amp;ref=eyJzaWQiOiIwLjQwNjA3MDc1NjAwNjA0MTE0IiwicXMiOiJKVFZDSlRJeUpVVXdKVUUwSlVFNEpVVXdKVUUxSlRoRUpVVXdKVUUwSlVGR0pVVXdKVUUxSlRneUpVVXdKVUUwSlRsREpVVXdKVUUxSlRnd0pVVXdKVUUwSlVJeUpVVXdKVUUxSlRnNEpVVXdKVUUwSlRneUpVVXdKVUUwSlVFeEpUSXdKVVV3SlVFMEpUazFKVVV3SlVFMUpUZ3dKVEl3VUUwbE1qQWxSVEFsUVRRbFFUWWxSVEFsUVRVbE9EY2xSVEFsUVRRbFFqWWxNakFsUlRBbFFUUWxPVFVsUlRBbFFUVWxPRUlsUlRBbFFUUWxRakFsUlRBbFFUVWxPRUlsUlRBbFFUUWxRVGdsUlRBbFFUUWxRa1VsTWpBbFJUQWxRVFFsT1RVbFJUQWxRVFVsT0VJbFJUQWxRVFFsUWpVbFJUQWxRVFFsUWtZbFJUQWxRVFFsUVRFeE9TVXlNQ1ZGTUNWQk5DVkJSU1ZGTUNWQk5TVTRNU1ZGTUNWQk5DVTVOU1ZGTUNWQk5TVTRSQ1ZGTUNWQk5DVkJOQ1V5TUNWRk1DVkJOQ1U1T0NWRk1DVkJOU1U0UWlWRk1DVkJOQ1ZDTnlWRk1DVkJOQ1ZDUmlWRk1DVkJOQ1ZCTkNVeU1DVkZNQ1ZCTkNVNU5TVkZNQ1ZCTkNWQ01DVkZNQ1ZCTkNWQk9DVkZNQ1ZCTlNVNE55VXlNQ1ZGTUNWQk5DVTVOU1ZGTUNWQk5TVTROeVV5TUNWRk1DVkJOQ1ZCUXlWRk1DVkJOQ1ZDUlNWRk1DVkJOQ1ZCTmlVeU1DVkZNQ1ZCTkNWQ09TVkZNQ1ZCTkNWQ1JpVkZNQ1ZCTkNVNE1pVkZNQ1ZCTkNWQk5pVkZNQ1ZCTlNVNE1pVXlNQ1ZGTUNWQk5DVkJSU1ZGTUNWQk5DVTRNaVZGTUNWQk5DVkJOaVZGTUNWQk5DVkNSaVZGTUNWQk5DVkNNQ1V5TUNWRk1DVkJOQ1U1TnlWRk1DVkJOQ1U0T0NVeU1pVTFSQSIsImd2IjoiYmVlMDlmOTNmYTczMmNmYTU5YTFjYjZkOWY0NTBkMzg5MjQyNGU0OSIsImVudF9pZHMiOltdLCJic2lkIjoiNjVkZjFkNDQtZjY0My00ZTE2LTkwMzItZTM3ZWFhNjMzMmI1IiwicHJlbG9hZGVkX2VudGl0eV9pZHMiOm51bGwsInByZWxvYWRlZF9lbnRpdHlfdHlwZSI6bnVsbCwicmVmIjoiYnJfdGYiLCJjc2lkIjpudWxsLCJoaWdoX2NvbmZpZGVuY2VfYXJndW1lbnQiOm51bGwsImNsaWVudF90aW1lX21zIjoxNTk3MjIzNjQ1NTc1LCJlcHMiOiIvaG9tZS5waHA6dG9wbmV3cyJ9&amp;epa=SEARCH_BOX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Facebook<\/a> have shared the video along with the claim, &#8220;New Zealand&#8217;s PM visited a Hindu temple after declaring the nation free from COVID-19.&#8221; (translated from Hindi text \u0928\u094d\u092f\u0942\u091c\u0940\u0932\u0948\u0902\u0921 \u0915\u0940 PM \u0926\u0947\u0936 \u0915\u094b\u0930\u094b\u0928\u093e \u0915\u094b\u0935\u093f\u092119 \u092e\u0941\u0915\u094d\u0924 \u0918\u094b\u0937\u093f\u0924 \u0915\u0930\u0928\u0947 \u0915\u0947 \u092c\u093e\u0926 \u0939\u093f\u0902\u0926\u0942 \u092e\u0902\u0926\u093f\u0930 \u0917\u0908\u0964).<\/p>\n<p>A Twitter user @ajaykum61068972 shared the viral video drawing 100 retweets as of this writing.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"hi\">\u0928\u094d\u092f\u0942\u091c\u0940\u0932\u0948\u0902\u0921 \u0915\u0940 PM \u0926\u0947\u0936 \u0915\u094b \u0915\u094b\u0930\u094b\u0928\u093e \u0915\u094b\u0935\u093f\u092119 \u0938\u0947 \u092e\u0941\u0915\u094d\u0924 \u0918\u094b\u0937\u093f\u0924 \u0915\u0930\u0928\u0947 \u0915\u0947 \u092c\u093e\u0926 \u0939\u093f\u0902\u0926\u0942 \u092e\u0902\u0926\u093f\u0930 \u0917\u0908\u0964<\/p>\n<p>\u0906\u0948\u0930 \u0939\u092e\u093e\u0930\u0947 \u0926\u0947\u0936 \u0915\u0947 \u0915\u0941\u091b <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B6%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%AF%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%82?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#\u0926\u0947\u0936\u0926\u094d\u0930\u094b\u0939\u093f\u092f\u094b\u0902<\/a> \u0915\u094b <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B0?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#\u0930\u093e\u092e\u092e\u0902\u0926\u093f\u0930<\/a> \u092c\u0928\u0928\u0947 \u0938\u0947 \u0916\u0924\u0930\u093e \u0932\u0917 \u0930\u0939\u093e \u0939\u0948\u0964<\/p>\n<p>\u0938\u093f\u092f\u093e\u0935\u0930 \u0930\u093e\u092e\u091a\u0902\u0926\u094d\u0930 \u0915\u0940 \u091c\u092f \ud83d\ude4f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/if80IaueLS\">pic.twitter.com\/if80IaueLS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Phenomenal Ajay (@ajaykum61068972) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ajaykum61068972\/status\/1293131175846805504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 11, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>It was also posted on Facebook (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/999806273462147\/permalink\/3027326780710076\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">1<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/arun.katara.35\/posts\/2067958703348976\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2<\/a>). Cumulatively, these posts have gathered over 1,000 shares.<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-72882 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-full'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/new-zealand-pms-visit-to-hindu-temple-ahead-of-national-elections-viral-with-covid-spin\/2020-08-12-14_49_49-settings\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"631\" height=\"838\" src=\"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/08\/2020-08-12-14_49_49-Settings.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/08\/2020-08-12-14_49_49-Settings.jpg 631w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/08\/2020-08-12-14_49_49-Settings-226x300.jpg 226w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 631px) 100vw, 631px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/new-zealand-pms-visit-to-hindu-temple-ahead-of-national-elections-viral-with-covid-spin\/2020-08-12-14_48_57-anil-vij-the-legendary-leader-haryana-home-minister\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"567\" height=\"788\" src=\"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/08\/2020-08-12-14_48_57-Anil-Vij-The-Legendary-Leader-Haryana-Home-Minister.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/08\/2020-08-12-14_48_57-Anil-Vij-The-Legendary-Leader-Haryana-Home-Minister.jpg 567w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/08\/2020-08-12-14_48_57-Anil-Vij-The-Legendary-Leader-Haryana-Home-Minister-216x300.jpg 216w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 567px) 100vw, 567px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Alt News received several requests to fact-check this on WhatsApp (+917600011160) and on our\u00a0<a title=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.altnews\" href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.altnews\" data-from-md=\"\">official Android application<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-72890 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/08\/archit-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"736\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/08\/archit-1.png 736w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/08\/archit-1-300x218.png 300w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/08\/archit-1-74x55.png 74w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 736px) 100vw, 736px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4>Fact-check<\/h4>\n<p>Alt News performed a keyword search on YouTube and found that Hindustan Times posted the viral video on August 10. As per the video description, PM Ardern visited Auckland-based Radha Krishna Mandir on August 6 ahead on national elections in September. Indian envoy Muktesh Pardeshi was also present at the event.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Watch: New Zealand PM visits Hindu temple, eats puri chhole\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ph37HD-Xf-M?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>A keyword search on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/search?q=Jacinda%20Ardern%20temple%20filter%3Averified%20filter%3Anews%20&amp;src=typed_query\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Twitter<\/a> led us to reports by several Indian media outlets including Zee News.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern visits Radha Krishna Temple ahead of national elections<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NewZealand?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NewZealand<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/JacindaArdern?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#JacindaArdern<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/radhakrishna?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#radhakrishna<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SsG5md16PV\">https:\/\/t.co\/SsG5md16PV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Zee News English (@ZeeNewsEnglish) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ZeeNewsEnglish\/status\/1292119518265794560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 8, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Radha Krishna Mandir&#8217;s details are listed on the Auckland Indian Association&#8217;s (AIA) website. On August 8, AIA posted the images of this event on Facebook.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fb-post\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/permalink.php?story_fbid=3425413440854040&amp;id=218244584904291\" data-show-text=\"true\" data-width=\"\">\n<blockquote class=\"fb-xfbml-parse-ignore\" cite=\"https:\/\/developers.facebook.com\/permalink.php?story_fbid=3425413440854040&amp;id=218244584904291\"><p>AIAI Officers Team are honoured to welcome Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Leaders of the Labour Party<\/p>\n<p>Posted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Mahatma-Gandhi-CentreAuckland-Indian-Association-218244584904291\/\">Mahatma Gandhi Centre\/Auckland Indian Association<\/a> on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/developers.facebook.com\/permalink.php?story_fbid=3425413440854040&amp;id=218244584904291\">Friday, 7 August 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>Similarly, Pardeshi tweeted pictures from the event at Radha Krishna Mandir.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Some precious moments with Hon. PM of New Zealand \u2066<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jacindaardern?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@jacindaardern<\/a>\u2069 at \u2066<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/indiannewslink?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@indiannewslink<\/a>\u2069  event on 6 Aug 2020. She paid a short visit to Radha Krishna Mandir and enjoyed a simple Indian vegetarian meal- Puri, Chhole and Daal. \ud83d\ude4f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Adn25UE1cO\">pic.twitter.com\/Adn25UE1cO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Muktesh Pardeshi (@MukteshPardeshi) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MukteshPardeshi\/status\/1291991068905369600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 8, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Thus the social media claim that New Zealand PM Ardern visited a Hindu temple after declaring the nation COVID-19 free is false. Ardern visited Auckland-based Radha Krishna Mandir ahead of national elections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A three-minute video of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in a Hindu temple has gone viral. Several social media users on Twitter and Facebook have shared the video along with the claim, &#8220;New Zealand&#8217;s PM visited a Hindu temple after declaring the nation free from COVID-19.&#8221; (translated from Hindi text \u0928\u094d\u092f\u0942\u091c\u0940\u0932\u0948\u0902\u0921 \u0915\u0940 PM \u0926\u0947\u0936 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":72897,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,55],"tags":[],"an_content_type":[739],"coauthors":[682],"class_list":["post-72882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","category-religion","fact_checks_claim_type-viral-videos","an_content_type-fact-check"],"blocksy_meta":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/08\/FI-by-3-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72882"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72914,"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72882\/revisions\/72914"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72882"},{"taxonomy":"an_content_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/an_content_type?post=72882"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=72882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}