TV9 Bharatvarsh runs old video of PM Modi and Manmohan Singh as recent, later deletes

by Kinjal

A video, where the former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh with his wife Gursharan Kaur is seen receiving PM Narendra Modi, was recently circulated on social media and broadcasted by a leading TV news channel. The footage was broadcasted by TV9 Bharatvarsh as the Modi and Singh meeting at the latter’s residence to discuss India’s economy. In the broadcast, the anchor also spoke with Supriya Bhardwaj, a journalist associated with the channel. The reporter claimed that according to sources, it was a courtesy meeting where subjects related to the economy were discussed. However, TV9 Bharatvarsh later deleted their broadcast video from YouTube, after their faux-pas was highlighted by an individual named Ankur Singh. TV9 Bharatvarsh has yet not issued a clarification for the same.

Dabang News, a local media organization from Madhya Pradesh, had also published the video on YouTube with a similar narrative.

Social Media

Khusboo Bhagat, a Twitter user, who claims to be the National Delegate of NSUI, also posted the video with the same narrative that Modi met Singh to discuss GDP.

Bhagat’s tweet was quote-tweeted by Lavanya Ballal, the state spokesperson of Karnataka Congress.

Umpteen users have shared the video with an identical narrative on Facebook and Twitter.

Video from 2014

A simple keyword search on Google reveals that the video pertains to a meeting dating back to May 27, 2014, a day after Narendra Modi took oath as the Prime Minister of India. The original video was also posted on Narendra Modi’s official YouTube channel. At the time, The Indian Express reported, “In a special gesture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday visited his predecessor Manmohan Singh to make a courtesy call.”

It is noteworthy that the newly appointed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently met Dr Manmohan Singh. There are no news reports claiming that a meeting also took place between Dr Singh and the PM Modi. It is unlikely that such a meeting held by the Prime Minister of India goes unnoticed in the media.

An old video of a courtesy-call meeting, which took place in 2014, was circulated on social media and published by a mainstream media outlet as recent.

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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.