Fact Check: Modi didn’t post about people ‘voting for INDIA in record numbers’. His X post said ‘NDA’

Screenshot of an X post by PM Modi was digitally altered to make it look like he wrote about people voting for opposition’s INDIA alliance in first phase of Lok Sabha elections.

New Delhi (Abhinav Gupta/Pratyush Ranjan): Multiple social media users shared a screenshot of a purported X post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, quoting him that people across the country voted for opposition’s INDIA bloc in record numbers in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls. In its investigation, the PTI Fact Check Desk found that the viral screenshot claiming it was published from PM Modi’s X handle was digitally edited. The claim shared in social media posts was fake.

Claim

On 20 April, a Facebook user shared a screenshot of a purported X post by PM Modi, which quoted him stating that people voted for the opposition’s INDIA bloc in record numbers in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls, which was held on 19 April.

The text on the screenshot read: “First phase, great response. Thank you to all those who have voted today. Getting EXCELLENT feedback from today’s voting. It’s clear that people across India are voting for INDIA in record numbers.”

Meanwhile, the caption of the post read, “Modi ji got the exit poll numbers, which suggest that people have voted against the NDA in record numbers all across the country. This election will be tough for the NDA.”

Here is the link and archive link to the post, and below is a screenshot of the same:

Investigation

On running the viral screenshot through Google Lens, we found another Facebook post, carrying the same claim.

Here is the link and archive link to the post, and below is a screenshot of the same:

The same screenshot was shared on X as well. Two such posts can be seen here and here, and their archived versions can be seen here and here, respectively.

On further scanning the search results, we came across another X post, which carried a screenshot of an X post purportedly by PM Modi, similar to the one viral on social media.

“First phase, great response! Thank you to all those who have voted today. Getting EXCELLENT feedback from today’s voting. It’s clear that people across India are voting for NDA in record numbers,” read the text on the screenshot shared in the post.

Here is the link and archive link to the post, and below is a screenshot of the same:

Taking a cue from this, the Desk scanned the official X handle to search for the post in question.

Here is the link to the X post by PM Modi shared on April 19, after the first phase polling concluded. Below is a screenshot of the same:

Subsequently, the Desk concluded that a screenshot of an X post by PM Modi was digitally altered to make it look like he asked voters to vote for the opposition’s INDIA alliance.

 

This story was originally published by PTI as part of the Shakti Collective. Apart from the headline and introduction, this story has not been edited by ThePrint.