FACT CHECK: In the election season, fake Modi letter stages a comeback

HYDERABAD: A letter purportedly written by Prime Minister Narendra Modi praising Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for his contribution towards a 'Hindu Rashtra' is viral on social media.

In the purported letter, PM congratulated Yogi and his team for their contributions. He also informs him that his proposal for an airport in Ayodhya has been approved.

Click here and here to view the claims on Twitter.

NewsMeter found that the viral letter is fake.

FACT CHECK:

We found a similar letter from 2020 that was dismissed by the PIB and All India Radio News as fake. The 2020 fake letter was also addressed to Yogi and it consists of the same sentences.

Claim: A Facebook user, has posted a letter, allegedly written by PM @narendramodi to Chief Minister of #UttarPradesh @myogiadityanath#PIBFactCheck: This letter is #Fake pic.twitter.com/9dHdcEEMu4

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) August 9, 2020

FAKE NEWS ALERT

Govt rejects a letter circulating in the social media which claims that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

PIB terms the letter as fake. pic.twitter.com/zmxzuL4iZa

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) August 9, 2020

We then compared the viral letter to official letters written by Modi and found that

1. The date is written in the (DD Month, YYYY) format, while in the viral letter it's in the (Month DD, YYYY) format.

2. The address of the recipient is mentioned at the bottom of the letter.

Furthermore, according to several news reports, the proposal for an international airport in Ayodhya was approved on February 26 much before the date mentioned in the viral letter.

https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/ayodhya-airport-soon-centre-gives-nod-for-rs-1000-crore-535203.html

The UP government's fact-checking team also debunked the news and claimed it as fake.

A purported letter written by the Hon. Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji to #UPCM Shri @myogiadityanath Ji for the development of Ayodhya International Airport is doing rounds on social media.#InfoUPFactCheck: This letter is #Fake! pic.twitter.com/jEYKbjVi2q

— Info Uttar Pradesh Fact Check (@InfoUPFactCheck) March 6, 2021

Evidently, a fake letter has been circulated on social media.