A photo of people welcoming PM Narendra Modi with applause is viral. The Hindi text below reads, “Modi was the ‘Chief President’ among the heads of 53 countries at a meeting in the United Kingdom yesterday, the same nation that enslaved us for 200 years. This will surely make every Indian’s chest swell up with pride.”

The graphic is widespread on Facebook.

We also received numerous requests to fact-check the image on the Alt News official mobile app and WhatsApp helpline number (+91 76000 11160).

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We noticed that this photo was shared on Twitter with the same claim back in 2018.

Fact-check

Alt News had published a fact-check report on this image when it was morphed to show Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was also present at the event. The image was circulated with the claim that Khan was trying to hide during the arrival of Prime Minister Modi. The original photo is now viral.

According to a report by DNA dated January 23, 2018, PM Narendra Modi had participated in the International Business Council in Davos. In attendance were the top global CEOs who had arrived to participate in the annual World Economic Forum. The photo was taken at the same gathering.

Indian External Affairs Ministry also tweeted this photo on January 23, 2018.

To sum it up, the claim accompanying this image is completely false. It was taken in Davos, Switzerland, and not the UK. In addition, we did not find any media reports to corroborate PM Modi was made the ‘Chief President’ among heads of 53 nations.

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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.