Fact Check: 'Go Back Modi' graffiti is from Kolkata, not Chennai
Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to Chennai on 26 May, a photo of a graffiti that reads “Go Back Modi” is going viral on social media. It claims to show people in Chennai protesting Modi’s visit.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 14 Jun 2022 2:39 PM GMT
Hyderabad: Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trip to Chennai on 26 May, a photo of a graffiti that reads "Go Back Modi" is going viral on social media. It claims to show people in Chennai protesting Modi's visit.
Social media users shared the photo with hashtags #GoBackModi and #GoBackFascistModi.
FACT CHECK:
We observed the photo and noticed a brown building with the text "METRO CHANNEL CONTROL POST, HARE STREET POLICE STATION." With the help of Google Maps we found that this building is the Metro channel control post under Hare Street police station in Kolkata's Esplanade area.
Newsmeter performed a reverse image search and found that the same photo was shared by several social media users in January 2020. Journalist Mayukh Ranjan Ghosh tweeted the image and mentioned the location as Kolkata's Esplanade area.
An article by The Times of India from January 2020 reads, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves Kolkata, protesters shift venue." The report states that many university students protested against the Citizenship Bill at Esplanade's Metro Channel and painted several graffiti against the government. The epicentre of protest against CAA and NRC shifted from Esplanade to Park Circus when Mr. Modi took an aerial route over the city and flew out of the Kolkata airport.
According to a report by India Today, hundreds of protesters participated in the protest at the Kolkata airport. Youth Congress activists assembled outside Kolkata airport and raised slogans against PM Modi demanding that he not be allowed to land in Kolkata.
SFI activists assembled near Jadavpur University, Golpark, College Street, Hatibagan, and Esplanade with placards that read "Students Against Fascism."
It is clear that the viral post does not show people in Chennai protesting against Mr. Modi's recent visit to the city.
