An image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi cycling with West Bengal’s Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader, Pamela Goswami, in a rally has gone viral on social media.
This comes after Goswami’s arrest from the Hooghly district on Friday, 19 February, along with a friend, for allegedly possessing 100g of cocaine.
The image, however, is morphed. An image shared by PM Modi on a cycle back in 2017 has been edited onto another image shared by Goswami, of a rally in 2020.
CLAIM
Several users shared the image with the caption, “Photo-jeevi with cocaine-jeevi”, taking a dig at the Prime Minister’s remarks calling those protesting against the farm laws as ‘andolanjeevis’ or ‘professional protesters’.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
Through a keyword search we came across similar images of PM Modi on a cycle, in several news reports dating back to 2017.
The original image had been shared by the Prime Minister on Instagram on 28 June 2017, thanking the Prime Minister of Netherlands, Mark Rutte, for gifting him a cycle.
A flipped version of the original image has been used in the viral image.
We also found the original image of Goswami cycling in a BJP rally on 1 December 2020. The BJYM leader had shared the image on Facebook.
A comparison of the original images with the viral image can be seen below.
Evidently, the image of PM Modi cycling with BJYM leader Pamela Goswami has been morphed.
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