Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
BJP leader and former Jharkhand Governor Droupadi Murmu took oath as the 15th President of India Monday morning, to become the first tribal person to occupy the country’s highest office. In this context, a six second long video from the farewell ceremony of her predecessor, Ram Nath Kovind, is being widely shared online to show the former President greeting PM Modi with folded hands, only to be ignored by the Prime Minister, who appears to be focused at the cameras photographing the moment.
Several opposition leaders have shared the video alleging that PM Modi insulted the former President Kovind at the farewell ceremony. Newschecker found that a clipped part of a longer video has been shared out of context to make the false claim.
A tweet by TRS Social Media Convenor Y Sathish Reddy carrying the viral video with the caption “When ‘Photograph’ is more important than the outgoing President” has been retweeted over 7.5 K times and viewed around 1.6 M times.
The video is going viral on social media platforms with users accusing PM Modi of ignoring the outgoing President.
Archived versions of such posts can be found here, here and here.
Members of the Congress and the AAP also shared the video with Hindi captions. Archived versions of the same can be found here, here and here.
The parliamentarians gathered at the Central Hall of the Parliament for President Kovind’s farewell ceremony on July 23. In his farewell address Kovind urged political parties to rise above partisan politics in national interest and decide what is necessary for the welfare of people. He termed the Parliament a “temple of democracy” and asked the parties to “use Gandhian philosophy during debates in the house. You can watch his entire address here.
Also Read: Biden Gave Cold Shoulder To PM Modi At QUAD Summit? No, Viral Video Is Clipped
Fact Check/Verification
On analysing the video closely, Newschecker noticed the watermark of ‘Sansad TV’ on the top left corner of the viral clip. Taking this as a clue, we conducted a keyword search for ‘Sansad TV President Kovind Farewell’ on YouTube which led us to a video by the public broadcaster, dated July 23, with the title ‘President Kovind’s departure from the Central Hall of Parliament I Farewell function.’
In the video, the former President can be seen greeting the Parliamentarians as he departs the Central Hall of the Parliament. Fifty nine seconds into the video, the former President Kovind and PM Modi can be seen greeting each other with folded hands, following which the President can be seen moving ahead to greet Piyush Goyal and others, while the Prime Minister can be seen looking in another direction.
Notably, the part of the video which shows the sequence immediately after the PM greeting the former President is being shared to give an impression that PM Modi disrespected Ram Nath Kovind. The viral clip shared on social media leaves out the part where both leaders are seen exchanging pleasantries.
Furthermore, the official Twitter account of the President of India also shared several photographs from the event, one of which l shows the exact moment when former President Kovind and PM Modi greet each other, before the former President moves on to greet Piyush Goyal among others.
Conclusion
Viral claim that PM Modi ignored former President Kovind at the latter’s farewell ceremony is false. A part of a longer video has been shared out of context to spread a false narrative.
Result: Missing Context
Sources
Video Uploaded On YouTube Channel Of Sansad TV On July 23, 2022
Tweet By @rashtrapatibhvn On July 23, 2022
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Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
