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.
A video showing Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman interacting with an elderly man is going viral on social media platforms, with users claiming that the video showed the finance minister meeting her father at his “simple” home. “A father accords a royal traditional welcome to his daughter which she politely sidesteps and introduces her colleagues to her father,” the captions accompanying the video added. Newschecker found that the man seen in the viral video was not Nirmala Sitharaman’s father.
Several Twitter users shared the visuals claiming to show interaction between Sitharaman and her father.
Archived versions of such tweets can be seen here, here, and here.
The video is also going viral on Facebook with users hailing the simplicity with which the father of the Union Finance Minister is leading his life.
Links to such posts can be found here, here and here.
Also Read: No, Female Army Officer Seen In Viral Photo Is Not Nirmala Sitharaman’s Daughter
Fact Check/Verification
A Google reverse image search on the key frames of the viral video led us to a Facebook post by @Balasai333, dated December 4, 2022. Displaying the viral clip, the post stated (translated from Tamil), “The house where Maha Kavi Bharathiyar lived while raising Tamil in Kashi.”
The search further yielded an Instagram post shared on the official account of Nirmala Sitharaman on December 4, 2022. The post featured the viral video with the caption, “Visited Siva Madam in Varanasi yesterday and interacted with the family members of Mahakavi Bharathiyar, including his 96-year-old great nephew Shri K. V. Krishnan. #KashiTamilSangamam”
The photographs from Sitharaman’s visit and interaction with the family members of Mahakavi Bharathiyar were also shared on her official Twitter handle on December 3, 2022.
C. Subramaniya Bharathiyar was a poet, freedom fighter and social reformer from Tamil Nadu. He was known as Mahakavi Bharathiyar and the laudatory epithet Mahakavi means a great poet. His songs on nationalism and freedom of India helped to rally the masses to support the Indian Independence Movement in Tamil Nadu.
Conclusion
Viral post claiming to show Nirmala Sitharaman meeting her father at his home is false. The visuals are from December, 2022 when she visited the family members of Mahakavi Bharathiyar in Varanasi.
Result: False
Sources
Facebook Post By @Balasai333, Dated December 4, 2022
Instagram Post By Nirmala Sitharaman, Dated December 4, 2022
Tweet By @nsitharamanoffc, Dated December 3, 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.
