Panellist praising PM Modi is not a Congress spokesperson, false claim viral

Footage from a primetime news debate is viral on social media. In the video, the anchor asks a panellist whether Rahul Gandhi would be able to woo Hindu voters as Narendra Modi did with the inauguration of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor. The panellist states, “That would be difficult not just for Rahul Gandhi, but for anyone. Narendra Modi is a hero. Even today there must be 10-15 crore people who revere him like a god, and don’t want to hear about his failures. And as far as Kashi is concerned, whatever has been done in Kashi has been simply amazing…” It has been claimed that the panellist praising PM Modi is a spokesperson for the Congress party.

Twitter handle ‘@VishalRuhelaIND’ shared the video with this claim. (Archive link)

जब कांग्रेस प्रवक्ता से पत्रकार ने सवाल पूछा कि क्या नरेंद्र मोदी का मुकाबला राहुल गांधी कर सकते हैं? तब कांग्रेस प्रवक्ता ने मोदीजी के बारे में जो कहा वो अद्भुत था। आप भी सुनिए।🤗#फिर_से_योगी_सरकार pic.twitter.com/9oRAl1e9Ss

— 🕉️📿Kshatriya Vishal Ruhela🇮🇳 (@VishalRuhelaIND) December 18, 2021

Another Twitter user promoted the video and accompanying claim. (Archive link)

जब कांग्रेस प्रवक्ता से पत्रकार ने पूछा क्या नरेंद्र मोदी का मुकाबला राहुल गांधी कर सकते है? तब कांग्रेस प्रवक्ता ने मोदीजी के बारे में जो कहा, सुनिए… pic.twitter.com/WlPV97wdr8

— 🇮🇳 शेषधर तिवारी 🇮🇳 (@sdtiwari) December 18, 2021

The clip is widespread on Facebook and Twitter.

Fact-check

The logo of the news channel which aired the debate is not clearly visible. However, the words ‘First News India’ do appear on the bottom of the screen. This is a local news outlet from Rajasthan.

Alt News performed a keyword search on YouTube using this information. We discovered that the video has been taken from a live debate aired by the channel on December 14. Scenes from the viral clip appear at the 55:36 mark. In addition, at the start of the segment, the anchor introduces the panellist as channel head Jagdish Chandra.

Upon further research about Chandra on the First India News website, we found another video report about the outlet completing eight years in the news business. He also appears in this video to offer congratulations. This is indeed the same man who appears in the viral video.

To sum it up, a video featuring Jagdish Chandra, Channel Head of First India News, praising Narendra Modi, was falsely circulated as a Congress spokesperson speaking in favour of the prime minister.