The Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni recently visited India for a state visit. But a photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting with his Italian counterpart is being shared online with a false claim.
The claim: Those sharing the photo claimed that PM Meloni refused to shake hands with PM Modi.
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)
(The same claim was also shared on Facebook.)
The truth: The claim is misleading. The photograph was taken when PM Meloni had her hands folded while PM Modi offered his hands for a handshake. However, after looking at PM Modi's hand, PM Meloni immediately shook his hand.
How did we find that out:
We looked for videos of PM Modi welcoming PM Meloni and found a video on PMO India's official handle.
The footage showed PM Modi and PM Meloni during the Ceremonial Reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi.
The video began with PM Meloni arriving in a car and PM Modi receiving her, following which the two shook hands for the first time.
She also meets with other cabinet ministers and shakes their hands.
The viral image was taken around the 7:56 min mark in the video, just before PM Meloni was about to leave in the car.
Screenshot from the Ceremonial Reception.
(Source: YouTube/Screenshot)
For a second, PM Meloni had her hands folded while PM Modi offered his hands for a handshake, but the confusion was soon cleared and both shook each other's hands.
Conclusion: It's clear that a false claim was shared with an image of PM Modi meeting his Italian counterpart in New Delhi.
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