New Delhi: A screenshot of what looks like the front page of the US daily The New York Times, featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been doing the rounds on social media and WhatsApp groups.
The screenshot features a large photograph of PM Modi along with the headline “Last, Best Hope of Earth” and the strap “World’s most loved and most powerful leader is here to bless us”, referring to Modi’s US visit on 24-25 September. The edition is dated 26 September 2021.
The image of the purported NYT front page was circulated en masse on Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp group chats, with messages like “Proud of my PM” accompanying it.
….और कुछ कहने की ज़रूरत नहीं pic.twitter.com/scKzx0VvKQ
— Manoj Kumar Jain Shashi (@mjainshashi001) September 26, 2021
Proud of my PM. pic.twitter.com/WFhEO1LThd
— Kavita Mayor (@MausiBilli) September 26, 2021
National general secretary of the BJP Youth Wing, Rohit Chahal, who has over 76,000 followers, also retweeted the screenshot posted by another user.
One WhatsApp forward of the photograph states: “Modi ji on the frontpage of the United States’ biggest newspaper. What could be a greater matter of pride than this?”
Fact check
The screenshot in circulation, however, is not the front page of The New York Times. In fact, the 26 September front page of the newspaper did not feature any story on PM Modi.
Furthermore, none of the social media posts provided an accompanying URL that linked to the newspaper page.
A closer look at the screenshot itself, as well as the pattern of social media posts, also reveals that the image is morphed.
The font style of the headline in the screenshot does not match the NYT stylesheet, which proves that the image has been altered. The date of the story also features a typo — 26 “Setpember” instead of 26 September.
The image of PM Modi used in the fake front page appears to have been taken from a Zee News story published last month, titled, “PM Modi to chair UNSC high-level open debate on enhancing maritime security.”
In collaboration with SM Hoaxslayer
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