Fact Check: Video of PM Modi’s old US visit falsely shared as 2024 visit to Ukraine
The viral video shows many people welcoming PM Modi with Indian flags at an airport.
By Sibahathulla Sakib Published on 3 Sep 2024 3:25 PM GMT
Claim: Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a grand welcome in Ukraine amid war-torn conditions.
Fact: The claim is false. The video is from PM Modi’s US visit in June 2023.
Hyderabad: Amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war that began on February 24, 2022, a video claiming to show prime minister Narendra Modi receiving a warm welcome in Ukraine has gone viral.
In the 45-second video, PM Modi is seen greeting people who arrived at the airport to welcome him with Indian flags. Media and police security are also visible in the footage.
An X user shared the video with the caption: “If there is a war going on between any two countries in the world, you can go there in the open and accept the greetings of your supporters. A few days ago, a leader of Shiv Sena was raising the question of whether Modi has stopped the war. Look, Modi is on a tour there, and the war has been stopped because of Modi.” (Translated from Hindi). (Archive)
Similar posts can be seen here and here.
Fact Check
The claim is false. The video is from PM Narendra Modi’s visit to the US, not Ukraine.
A reverse image search led to a longer version of similar video on YouTube posted by Narendra Modi’s official channel with the caption “PM Modi arrives to a warm welcome at the New York City Airport | PM Modi US visit 2023,” on June 20, 2023.
We also found an X post by the BJP India official account featuring the similar video on June 20, 2023, with the caption “Rousing welcome of PM Shri @narendramodi on his arrival at New York Airport. #ModiInUSA.”
A video report by India Today on the same day, titled, “Modi US Visit 2023: PM Modi Receives Grand Welcome As He Lands In New York For 3-day US Visit,” also confirmed that the video is from his visit to the US.
The report stated that Narendra Modi landed in New York on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, for a 3-day visit to the United States.
As airports in Ukraine have been closed for some time, we conducted a keyword search regarding PM Modi’s visit to Ukraine.
We found a video posted by DD News official YouTube channel on August 23, 2024, with the caption “PM Modi arrives at Kyiv Central Railway Station from Poland to begin his one-day visit to Ukraine.”
The video showed PM Modi’s arrival at a railway station and mentioned that this is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine. The same video was shared by the PMO India’s YouTube channel with the caption “Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kyiv by train” on the same day.
Hence, the claim that prime minister Narendra Modi received a grand welcome at an airport in war-torn Ukraine is false. The video is from his visit to the US in 2023. The prime minister arrived in Ukraine on August 23, 2024, but he travelled by train from Poland.
