CLAIM
A viral image of a still from Aaj Tak channel claims that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has banned liquor in India. The text in the viral image reads: ‘आज रात से पूरे भारत में शराब बंद ‘
(Translation: Liquor banned in India from tonight)
Several social media users have shared the viral image on Facebook and Twitter.
The Quint received a query about the claims on the same image via its WhatsApp helpline as well.
TRUE OR FALSE?
The claim made in the viral image is false. No such information was aired on Aaj Tak channel. The original still, which is from December 2016 when Narendra Modi was addressing the nation for the second time after demonetisation, has been morphed to spread a false narrative.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
A reverse image search on Yandex revealed that the snapshot of PM Modi is from 31 December 2016. He had addressed the nation on that day for the second time after demonetisation was announced on 8 November 2016.
A subsequent search on Google with the keywords ‘मोदी,’ ‘नोटबंदी’ and ‘आज तक’ (Translation: ‘Modi,’ ‘Note bandi’ and ‘Aaj Tak’) led to an Aaj Tak report that had the original still of the bulletin that was aired on the channel.
In this video, at 05:16 minutes, the text in the top band of both the viral image and the original is same i.e. ‘देश के नाम मोदी का सम्बोधन पार्ट-2’ ( Translation: Modi addresses the nation Part-2). However, the logo of Aaj Tak is different in both the images.
Further, the way the attribution is made to DD News is different in both the images. In the original still, a red coloured text strip mentioning ‘सौ-डीडी’’can be seen but in the viral image, the blue coloured text strip mentions ‘सौजन्य-डीडी.’
In the viral image, the portion where the claim about Modi banning liquor is mentioned, the original still reads a very different text. The text reads: ‘घुटन से मुक्ति के तलाश में थे लोग ‘ (Translation: People were in search of freedom from suffocation)
This text is similar to the text mentioned in lower band of the viral image. The text in the lower band reads: ‘ऐसी घुटन से मुक्ति के तलाश में थे देशवासी’’ (Translation: The citizens of the country were in search of freedom from suffocation)
Further, a source from Aaj Tak’s digital team confirmed to The Quint that the still shown in the viral image is fake. He pointed out that the font size used in the ticker, top band and middle portion is different. Also, the time stamp on Aaj Tak’s logo is cut in the viral image.
Hence, the aforementioned observations prove that the still in the viral image is clearly morphed and was not aired on the channel. Also, Narendra Modi has not made any such claim that liquor has been banned in India.
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