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Does This Image Show PM Modi Posing for a Photo With Jyoti Malhotra? No!

The woman in the viral image was identified as Payal Dhare, who is a gamer.

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An image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi posing for a picture with several others is being shared with users identifying the woman as YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who has been recently arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan.

What have users said?: Those sharing the image have uploaded it with a Hindi caption that said, "Spy Jyoti Malhotra is an old player."

(More archives of similar such claims could be found here, here, and here.)

Is the claim true?: No, the woman in the image is being misidentified as Malhotra. The photo actually dates back to April 2024, when PM Modi had interacted with top gamers.

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How did we find that out?: A simple Google Lens search directed us to the same visual published in a report by The News Minute.

  • The report said that PM Modi had met some top gamers of the country on 11 April 2024, ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections.

  • PM Modi interacted with gamers like Animesh Agarwal, Mithilesh Patankar, Payal Dhare, Naman Mathur, and Anshu Bisht.

  • The report further mentioned that PM Modi had interacted with the gamers about the future of gaming.

Other sources: Team WebQoof found a video published on the official YouTube channel of PM Modi, which showed him interacting with the gamers.

  • The video identified the woman as Payal Dhare.

  • The viral image could be seen towards the end of the clip at around 31:36 timestamp.

  • The YouTube video was posted on 13 April 2024 with a title said, "India's top gamers meet PM Modi | Game On ft. NaMo."

  • Dhare, too, had shared visuals from her interaction with PM Modi on her official Instagram handle named 'payalgamingg'.

  • The image was shared on 13 April 2024 with a caption that mentioned, "Honored to have met Honorable Prime Minister Shree Narendra Modi to discuss the future of gaming in India!.."

Conclusion: It is evident that the image is being shared with users misidentifying the woman as arrested YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818 , or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)

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