A screengrab of an alleged India TV News graphic plate airing two quotes attributed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi is viral on social media.
The first quote reads, “I used to ask for lassi from the house of Jats.” (मैं जाटों के घर से लस्सी मांग कर लाता था). The second quote is visible at the bottom of the screen and it reads, “I have lived 20 years in Jatland.” (में 20 वर्ष जाटलैंड में रहा हूँ)
The screengrab is viral on Twitter with various captions and has been shared by Shesh Narayan Ojha, National Secretary of Indian Youth Congress.
जाटों ने “छटी का दूध याद दिला दिया” तो जाटों की लस्सी भी याद आ गयी ।#झूठा_मोदी pic.twitter.com/PrSiZvj78i
— Shesh Narayan Ojha (@sheshnojha) February 1, 2022
It was also tweeted by Comedian Rajeev Nigam and retired IPS officer Vijay Shanker Singh.
अब इसके बाद और क्या सुनना बांकी रह गया.. Pls लस्सी का क़र्ज़ अदा करिये pic.twitter.com/gSg7c2kQFO
— Rajeev Nigam (@apnarajeevnigam) January 31, 2022
जाटों के घर से लस्सी मांग कर लाते थे मोदी जी।
फिर भी 700 किसान एक साल से अधिक चले धरने में शहीद हो गए, पर एक फोन कॉल की दूरी पर वे खड़े खड़े, अड़े अड़े, कील ठुंकि सड़कों पर बैठे लाखों किसान देखते रहे।
अब लस्सी पी लिए हों तो जो वादे किसानों से किये हैं सरकार, उसे भी मान लें। pic.twitter.com/u1YDFZTE8S— Vijay Shanker Singh IPS Rtd (@vssnathupur) February 1, 2022
The alleged screengrab was also referred by RJD leader Jayant Chaudhary in one of his speeches.
मोदी जी जाटों से लस्सी माँग पिया करते थे..
अबके वो भी ना देंगे .. अबकि बार मिलेगा 🍆 pic.twitter.com/5IcXIVa7dA— Vijay Malik (@VijaySmalik) February 1, 2022
The screengrab is being shared ahead of UP assembly elections scheduled from February 10. The first phase is the most crucial phase of this election as 58 seats, in what is widely known as the ‘Jat belt’, will go to the polls on that day.
Morphed image
We had a close look at the image and noticed a text just above PM Modi’s photo. It reads “दिल्ली कैंट से Live” (Live from Delhi Cantt). Taking it as a clue, we performed a keyword search on Google and came across a news report by The Hindu where PM Modi can be seen in the same attire as the one in the viral clip.
According to the report, the PM was addressing the annual PM’s National Cadet Corps (NCC) rally at the Delhi Cantonment on Friday, January 28.
We found a video of the event on YouTube that was live-streamed on the official channel of the Prime Minister. The PM addresses the event at 1:01:36 minutes and his speech lasts for 26 minutes approximately. We played the full speech and at no point did he utter either of the quotes that are visible in the viral image.
We also looked at the video of the speech available on the India TV News’s YouTube channel. Chronologically, the quote at the bottom (“I have lived 20 years in Jatland”) should appear first on-screen followed by the quote in the yellow background (“I used to ask for lassi from the house of Jats.”) but both of these quotes do not appear during the broadcast at any point. When we compared the viral image with the genuine graphic plate that appears during the broadcast (timestamp: 2:45 minutes), we noticed that the fonts don’t match. The font in the viral image is completely different from the font in the actual broadcast.
Hence, a morphed India TV News screengrab was made viral on social media to attribute false quotes to PM Modi.
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