Fact Check: Viral screenshot of Maldives Prez Mohamed Muizzu’s apology tweet to Indians is fake

Hyderabad: A screenshot of a tweet purportedly showing Maldives president Dr Mohamed Muizzu apologizing to Indians ‘with folded hands’ for the derogatory comments allegedly made by his state ministers on the recent trip of prime minister Narendra Modi to Lakshadweep is being widely shared on social media.

We also found the same tweet shared on the premium X handle of Rishi Bagree, a popular social media personality.

The controversy is about PM Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Lakshadweep after which three leaders from Maldives allegedly posted derogatory remarks about him and Lakshadweep. The ministers allegedly called the PM a ‘clown,’ ‘puppet’ and a ‘terrorist’ (now deleted tweets). The three suspended ministers are Malsha Shareef, Mariyam Shiuna and Abdulla Mahzoom Majid.

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the viral tweet from the Maldives president is fake.

We started our investigation by searching for the viral tweet on Maldives President Muizzu’s X handle but could not find it on the list of January 7 posts as marked in the viral tweet.

Moving forward, we also looked for media reports covering the same but could not find any credible media site reporting the alleged apology. If the tweet was real, it would have caught the attention of mainstream media.

The latest tweet by Dr Mohamed Muizzu was on January 5, 2024, unrelated to India or prime minister Narendra Modi.

For further confirmation, we also checked for the archives using the Wayback Machine to find out if tweets were deleted but couldn’t find any such tweet here.

We found an official statement published by the Government of Maldives on its website dated January 7, 2024, where the Government of Maldives stated that it ‘is aware of derogatory remarks on social media platforms against foreign leaders and high-ranking individuals.’ Distancing itself from the derogatory comments without mentioning the ministers, it said that ‘these opinions are personal and do not represent the views of the Government of Maldives.’

It further added ‘the relevant authorities of the Government will not hesitate to take action against those who make such derogatory remarks.’