As people across the country offered wishes on social media to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday on September 17, some users shared a picture of the prime minister with a misleading claim.
The image shows PM Modi clicking photos with a Canon camera without removing the lens cap.
While some users took this opportunity to criticize PM Modi for such a stupid mistake; some shared this image as satire.
PM Modi users reported that no one had ever clicked on such photos in the last 70 years.
However, Fact Crescendo noted that this image has been digitally altered.
What is the claim?
The claim reads: “ग़ज़ब आदमी है यार। 70 er ये हमारा शेर ही कर सकता है”
English translation: What a wonderful man. Nobody in 70 years has been able to click on a photo with such a closed camera… Only our lion can do that.”
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The same image is also going viral on Twitter.
fact check–
We began our investigation by conducting a relevant keyword search and a reverse image search on Google. The findings led us to a report published by The Free Press Journal on September 17, 2022.
According to the report, the image was first shared by TMC MP Jawhar Sircar, but he later deleted the post. In response, the BJP accused Jawhar Sircar of trying to spread fake propaganda by sharing an edited image.
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We found the viral image on ACTP News’ Hindi website. However, in this image we can clearly see that PM Modi removed the camera’s lens cap while using the camera. We noticed that the viral image is edited and flipped before being posted to social media platforms. Below is the comparison between the viral and the original image.
On September 17, 2022, Hindustan Times uploaded a video to YouTube showing PM Modi taking photos of cheetahs without the camera’s lens caps. The video’s caption reads: “PM Modi releases cheetahs into the wild on his birthday; call it a historic day for India.”
The report states that the cheetahs were critically endangered and have finally returned to India after 74 years. PM Modi released these cheetahs in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. Of the eight cheetahs brought to India from Namibia, 5 are females and 3 are males.
According to The Telegraph, the viral image was taken to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday as he snapped photos of cheetahs brought back from Namibia. The Prime Minister stated that the arrival of the cheetah from Namibia will strengthen India’s new future.
Conclusion:
Fact Crescendo found that the viral image is being digitally altered. On the original image, PM Modi clicked photos of the cheetahs brought to India without the camera’s lens cap. The viral image was falsely edited to claim PM Modi clicked photos with the camera lens cap on.
Title:No, PM Modi will NOT click photos without removing the camera lens cap!
Fact check by: Siddharth Sahu
Result: Changed
