A video of Prime Minister Modi greeting political leaders onstage at an event has been circulating widely. The video has been shot by an audience member. It portrays abuses in Punjabi being hurled at the Indian Prime Minister. Below is a tweet by @Naushad947 that received over 47,000 views as of this writing. The video has been censored and attached below.

Twitter user ‘@FellowcitizenEs’ also shared the footage criticising the incident.

The video is widespread on Facebook.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The clip is also being circulated with different audio, which contains no abusive language. Facebook user BJP Zindabad had shared it with the claim that Prime Minister Modi received a warm welcome in the United States. Pro-India chants can be heard in the video. A few other users had also posted this video. (Link 1, Link 2)

 

🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳
भारत के होनहार यशस्वी पीएम मोदी जी का US में जोरदार स्वागत देखिए
🇮🇳भारत माता की जय के जयकारो से अमेरिका गुंज रहा है

Posted by बीजेपी जिंदाबाद on Friday, September 24, 2021

Fact-check

Alt News noticed that no one in the video is wearing masks, a mandatory requirement during the COVID-19 pandemic. We suspected that this footage might have been filmed before the pandemic. Based on this information, we performed a keyword search on YouTube and found a video of PM Modi’s 2019 visit to the US when the ‘Howdy Modi’ event was held. It had been uploaded by the official channel of the Prime Minister’s Office. Scenes resembling the viral clip appear at the 1:43:30 mark. Therefore, it is evident that the footage was taken during the Prime Minister’s 2019 visit to the US.

The similarities between the YouTube video and the clip in question can be seen below.

In addition, a banner that reads ‘Texas India Forum’ is visible in both videos. Texas India Forum organised the ‘Howdy Modi’ event in 2019.

Alt News was not able to verify the audio of the video. It is noteworthy that one version of the video portrays people hurling abuses at PM Modi while in the other, the audience can be heard raising pro-India slogans. But the video is not recent. It is from the ‘Howdy Modi’ event held two years ago.

Donate to Alt News!
Independent journalism that speaks truth to power and is free of corporate and political control is possible only when people start contributing towards the same. Please consider donating towards this endeavour to fight fake news and misinformation.

Donate Now

Tagged:
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.