By Srijit Das
A video from Australia showing a large crowd at a stadium cheer enthusiastically as Prime Minister Narendra Modi alights from a car, is being shared online with a misleading claim that it shows the Indian prime minister receiving a rousing reception at the recent G7 summit in Italy.
BOOM found that the video is from May 2023 when the prime minister visited Australia at the invitation of the Australian government.
The one minute and 58-seconds video shows a packed stadium with several giant screens. It captures Modi receiving a hug as he steps out of his car and entering the stadium, greeted by cheers from the crowd.
The video is being shared with a caption, "*This is how Modiji was welcomed in Pappu's grandmother's country Italy yesterday* *Sycophants should not watch it because they will not be able to digest it".
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
Also Read:No, PM Modi Did Not Refuse US President Biden's Handshake At G7 Summit
Fact Check
BOOM ran a reverse image search on one of the keyframes from the viral video and found several social media posts featuring the same video that were posted before the G7 summit held in Italy from June 13 to June 15, 2024. One example of such a post from May 2024 can be seen below.
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
We then observed that the Australian flag appeared on the giant screen alongside Modi, in the video. Following that lead, we ran a related search for images and videos of PM Modi with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and found similar visuals from 2023, when Modi visited Australia from May 22-24 as a guest of the Australian Government.
Photos showing Modi speaking from a podium at a packed stadium were posted by the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs on May 23, 2023.
Click here to view the post.
The community program in Sydney, Australia was livestreamed from PMO India's official YouTube channel on May 23, 2023.
We then compared the live-streamed visuals from PMO India's official channel with those seen in the viral video and found them to be the same.
According to a report published by the Associated Press on May 23, 2023, Modi received a warm welcome from approximately 20,000 people at a stadium in Sydney during his second visit to Australia as India's prime minister.
The report states, "Modi shared the stage with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who compared the reception by the primarily Indian crowd at Qudos Bank Arena to a concert by U.S. rock star Bruce Springsteen at the same venue."
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