Fact Check: Image of Tamil Nadu CM's campaign trail passed off as sudden inspection

Sharing the post, social media users questioned why the bus was decorated if it was a sudden inspection.

Click here to view the post

Click here to view more such similar posts

Fact Check

The claim is misleading.

NewsMeter performed a Google reverse image search, which led the team to a report published by DTNext on October 13, 2019.

"Campaigning for his candidate Pugazhendi at Vikravandi, Stalin referred to the 'never like before' conservancy work undertaken in the coastal city and said that Mahabalipuram was cleaned and beautified to such an extent that it would have exceeded Singapore during the last one week. They have done it for a foreign president's visit. Let them do it. But, what about the (civic) problems you complained about," the report reads.

The fact check team found a similar image published by Asianet News Tamil on October 14, 2019.

The team found that on October 23, 2021, he had conducted a sudden inspection and boarded a government bus where he spoke to the women about the free travel plan. The team found a tweet by the verified Twitter handle of 'CMOTamil Nadu' that had the video of the chief minister talking to the women on the bus.

The team had also found reports published by the mainstream media including News 18 and The Hindu on October 24, 2021.

"Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin surprised passengers of a Chennai bus on Saturday when he boarded the vehicle and interacted with them. The chief minister was on his way to a vaccination camp, held as part of the sixth mega Covid-19 inoculation drive across the state, when he boarded the 'M-19 B Kannagi Nagar-T Nagar' service, much to the delight of the passengers. He mainly spoke to women about the government's free bus travel scheme," read the report by News 18.

The team lastly compared the viral image and the recent image.

It is therefore evident that the claim is misleading.