Fact Check: Singapore newspaper did not publish photo comparing Lee Kuan Yew to Prime Minister Modi
Social media users are sharing a photo of a Singapore newspaper that compares Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to former Singapore PM Lee Kuan Yew.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 14 March 2022 3:42 AM GMT
Hyderabad: Social media users are sharing a photo of a Singapore newspaper that compares Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to former Singapore PM Lee Kuan Yew.
Click here to view.
Fact Check
The claim is misleading.
NewsMeter conducted a reverse image search. We found that the same photo was originally published in the Economic Times on November 2016. It can be seen in a report titled "Bombshell to recall Rs. 500 & Rs. 1,000 notes spelt out by PM Modi in March: Govt source." The report quotes a highly-placed government functionary equating Mr. Modi with Singapore legend Lee Kuan Yew. "From making up his mind to rolling it (demonetisation) out yesterday (Tuesday), a new Lee Kuan Yew is born in India. It will be reflected in the legacy of this Prime Minister," the government official is quoted as saying.
In the archived version of this article, you can see that the headline reads, "A New Lee Kuan Yew is Born in India: Govt Source".
A Singapore news website, The Independent, had on 10 November 2016 published a report titled "Modi does a Lee Kuan Yew to stamp out corruption in India".
Reporting the abolition of Rs. 1,000 and 500 banknotes, the report had said, "Government leaders feel that the sudden move by the Indian Prime Minister has brought new respect for him. A senior Indian government official even equated Mr Modi to Singapore's first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Mr Modi's admiration for Mr Lee is of course no secret. When Mr Lee passed away in March last year, Mr Modi in leading the tributes and condolences pouring in from all over India, acknowledged Mr Lee Kuan Yew a "lion among leaders"."
We also found a report by HuffPost from November 2016 titled "Did PM Narendra Modi copy Singapore's founding father in his 'surgical strike' on black money move?" The website, however, had issued a correction rectifying its earlier headline that said Mr. Modi was making headlines in Singapore for his demonetisation move.
"Correction: Earlier, the headline and the copy said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making headlines in Singapore for his demonetization move. That information is incorrect. We regret the error," it wrote.
Hence, the photo reportedly of a Singapore newspaper comparing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew is fake.
