An image showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi with All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM)'s President Asaduddin Owaisi is going viral on the internet amid the five state elections.
The claim states that the two met to discuss the polls.
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
We received a query about this on our WhatsApp tipline.
(Archives of similar claims can be found here, here and here.)
Is it true?: No, this image is digitally altered.
The original image of PM Modi dates back to 2018 in which he can be seen with Canada's Leader of Opposition Andrew Scheer.
Owaisi's original image shows him with members of AIMIM, Imtiaz Jaleel and Sharique Naqshbandi.
How did we find out?: We ran a Google reverse image search on the viral image and came across a post on Instagram by Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (former Aurangabad) AIMIM President Sharique Naqshbandi from 27 September.
The caption mentioned about his interaction with Owaisi and member of AIMIM Imtiaz Jaleel.
The image was similar to the viral image.
Here's a comparison between the viral image and Owaisi's original image.
Here are the similarities between the viral image and Sharique's post.
(Source: Altered by The Quint)
PM Modi's original Image: Further, we ran another Google reverse image search on the image of PM Modi.
This led us to a similar image on the PM Modi's official X (former Twitter) account dated 9 October 2018.
The caption mentioned about his interactive with Canada's Leader of Opposition, Andrew Scheer.
We compared the two images and found similarities.
Here is a comparison between the viral image and PM Modi's post.
(Source: Altered by The Quint)
We also found a news update from 9 October 2018 on the Prime Minister's official website that mentioned Scheer's visit to India.
Additionally, a Hyderabad-based Urdu language daily, The Munsif Daily also reported on the digitally altered image of PM Modi and Owaisi.
It also mentioned that a First Information Report (FIR) has been registered for this matter.
More about the viral image: With the same results of the reverse image search, we came across another post on Instagram from 27 September 2023.
This post was shared by AIMIM leader and Member of the Telangana Legislative Assembly, Akbaruddin Owaisi.
In a two-slider post, the MLA called the image 'morphed.'
FIR Registered: Akbaruddin's post also mentioned that AIMIM party member Mohammad Irfan Khan had registered an FIR against Facebook user, Syed Imtiyaz Ahmed with the Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police Station.
The Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections imposed on Ahmed are Section 469 for committing forgery with the purpose of harming reputation and Section 505 (2) for intentional circulation of statements or rumours with the motive to create enmity or hatred among different groups.
(Swipe right on the post to see the copy of the FIR. )
Conclusion: It is clear that the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Asaduddin Owaisi is digitally altered.
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