Fact Check: Videos of Angela Merkel, Xi Jinping ‘avoiding handshake’ with PM Modi are clipped
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The extended versions of the videos show both leaders shaking hands with PM Modi.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 24 Oct 2024 11:59 AM GMT
Claim: The video collage shows former German chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese president Xi Jinping avoiding a handshake with prime minister Narendra Modi.
Fact: The claim is false. The extended versions of the videos show both leaders shaking hands with PM Modi.
Hyderabad: A video collage showing former German chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese president Xi Jinping reportedly avoiding a handshake with prime minister Narendra Modi has been circulating on social media.
Taking a jibe at PM Modi, an X user shared the video and wrote, “Nobody wants to shake hands with poor VishGuru.... (sic)” (Archive)
Another X user shared the video and wrote, “Xi Jinping avoided shaking hands with Modi ji - Breaking News. Such an insult to Modiji is unbearable. Bhakts, do something. At least start a war in the media.” (Translated from Hindi) (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The extended versions of the videos show both leaders shaking hands with PM Modi.
Clip 1 of PM Modi and Angela Merkel
Upon conducting a keyword search, we came across a report by The Indian Express published on May 30, 2017, titled ‘Development of Indo-German relations is fast, positive and clear: PM Narendra Modi in Berlin.’
The report featured an image of PM Modi shaking hands with Merkel. “German Chancellor Angela Merkel shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi following a news conference at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany,” read the image’s description.
Following this lead, we conducted a keyword search and found a 40-minute video live-streamed on the BJP’s YouTube channel on May 30, 2017. The video was titled ‘PM Modi with Chancellor Angela Merkel at Joint Press Statements in Berlin, Germany.’
The viral clip appears at the 39:40-minute mark and shows Merkel shaking hands with Modi at 39:47 minutes, following the conclusion of the press conference.
Clip 2 of PM Modi and Xi Jinping
Upon conducting a reverse image search of the clip’s keyframes, we found a video published by ANI News on October 23, 2024, titled, “Historic handshake: PM Modi holds meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at BRICS Summit”
The viral clip appears at the beginning of the video and it shows Jinping shaking hands with PM Modi at the 0:07-minute mark.
According to the ANI, the meeting in Tatarstan’s capital was the first formal interaction between the two leaders in five years, where an agreement was signed between the countries to resume regular patrols along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
Hence, the claim is false. Both videos were clipped deliberately to mislead social media users to think that Merkel and Xi Jinping avoided a handshake with PM Modi.
