Claim
A commuter greets Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman aboard a Metro train, says she is a huge fan. Sitharaman presented her eighth consecutive Union Budget on Saturday (February 1, 2025).
The archived version of the post can be seen here, which has clocked 1.6 million views so far.
Fact
Newschecker ran a keyword search for “Nirmala Sitharaman Metro train fan”, which led us to this Instagram post by Lokmat Times Nagpur, dated May 18, 2024, sharing the same video.
“A viral video shows Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman smiling as a woman casually taps her shoulder during a metro ride in Delhi… The 10-second clip shows a woman casually putting her hand on the Union Minister’s shoulder. In the video, Sitharaman is seen standing in the metro, surrounded by her security detail and other passengers. The woman makes her way through the crowded space and taps the Finance Minister’s shoulder, while Sitharaman smiles in response,” read the post.
“The minister boarded the Delhi Metro train to Laxmi Nagar and interacted with commuters inside, as shown in various videos. The minister’s official X account also posted pictures of her journey and interactions with passengers,” read a Times Now report, dated May 18, 2024. Similar reports and a post from the official X account of Sitharaman’s office can be seen here, here and here, confirming that the viral video was not after the Union budget was presented by Sitharaman on Saturday.
Result: Missing Context
Source
Instagram post, Lokmat Times, May 18, 2024
X post, Nirmala Sitharaman Office, May 17, 2024
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