Fact Check: China welcomes PM Modi with drone display? Here’s the truth

Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Tianjin, China, on August 30, for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, marking his first visit to the country in over seven years. The trip has attracted global attention, especially amid ongoing trade tensions between India and the US.

Amid this, a photo has gone viral on social media claiming that China welcomed PM Modi with a drone light show. The image shows drones forming Modi’s face along with the text ‘Modi Welcome To China.’

An Instagram user shared the photo with the caption, “Mr Modi coming to China-India China friendship.” (Archive)

A similar post can be seen here. (Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the viral image is digitally altered.

A reverse image search of the photo led us to a report published by China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency on April 20.

The original image was taken during a drone light show in Nan’an District of southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality on April 19.

We also found a report by iChongqing dated April 28, which described the event as the ‘Glamorous Chongqing’ drone light show. Thousands of drones lit up the night sky above the city’s Two Rivers and Four Banks, officially launched on April 19. The show is scheduled to run every Saturday and on holidays, combining drone choreography with building lights to create an immersive cultural experience.

A side-by-side comparison shows that Modi’s face and the words ‘Modi Welcome To China’ were digitally inserted into the original photo using editing tools.

Here’s a comparison of the viral image and the original, which shows the digital modifications.

The viral photo claiming that a drone show in China welcomed PM Modi with his face and the message ‘Modi Welcome To China’ is edited. The original image is from a drone light show in Chongqing on April 19, which is unrelated to Modi’s visit.

The claim is false.