Fact-check: New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern wishing Janmashtami, quoting Bhagavad Gita?

by Kinjal

A video of a woman praising the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita and Hindu deity Krishna is circulating with the claim that she is New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. The video was shared on social media after Janmashtami i.e., August 12. Facebook user Rajendran Pillai SN posted it on August 13 (archive).

 

Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern is a New Zealand politician who has served as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand.
Please listen to her for what she is telling about Bhagwan Shri Krishna and Bhagavad Gita.
Jay Shri Krishna 🙏🙏🌷🌷🙏🙏

Posted by Rajendran Pillai SN on Thursday, 13 August 2020

The same was shared on Twitter.

Alt News has also received several fact-check requests for the video.

Fact-check

The woman in the video is not New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, but American Hindu member of the US Congress Tulsi Gabbard. She had tweeted the video for Janmashtami on August 11 and wished everyone for the festival.

Gabbard had also shared the video on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

The clip, therefore, is falsely circulating in the name of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who was hailed for making New Zealand COVID-19 free. It is noteworthy that after Arden’s government recorded no new cases of community transmission for over 100 days, the country saw a second wave of the virus outbreak. Elections in the country, scheduled for September 19, have been delayed for four weeks. Earlier, a video of Ardern visiting a Hindu temple ahead of polls was shared with the false claim that she visited the temple after the country was declared COVID free.

About the Author

Kinjal Parmar holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. However, her keen interest in journalism, drove her to pursue journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. At Alt News since 2019, she focuses on authentication of information which includes visual verification, media misreports, examining mis/disinformation across social media. She is the lead video producer at Alt News and manages social media accounts for the organization.