Photo Of PM Narendra Modi Bowing To Xi Jinping Is Morphed

An edited image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi bowing in front of Chinese President Xi Jinping with folded hands is being shared on social media. The image is doctored to include the Indian prime minister photographed in such a gesture. 

The photograph has gone viral in the aftermath of the June 15 clash between the Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan valley of the eastern Ladakh region of the Line of Actual Control, which led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers. The casualties on the Chinese side are not yet known. 

The image has been shared on Twitter and Facebook with a similar narrative.

The archives can be found here, here and here.

Also Read: Randeep Surjewala Peddles Old Clips Of India-China Clashes As Recent

The morphed photograph was earlier tweeted by an Indian National Congress party member and a spokesperson Devashish Jarariya claiming that PM Modi 'made this image real.'

After the all-party meeting, that was convened by prime minister Narendra Modi, to discuss the issue of the India China face off on June 19, questions were raised about PM Modi's concluding remarks about "India not losing any territory to China in recent months." This led to the opposition questioning the government as to what led to the clash between Indian and Chinese forces on June 15. A clarification was later issued by the Prime Minister's Office about 'the mischievous interpretation of PM's statement.'

Fact check

BOOM ran a reverse image search on the photograph and found this PTI photo taken during Modi and Xi Jinping's 2019 meeting at Mamallapuram. The Hindu also published the photo in an article describing Modi and Xi Jinping's Mamallapuram visit.

In the original image, the Indian Prime Minister can be seen interacting with Xi Jinping while security guards stand behind them.

Below is an image comparison of the morphed image (left) and the original image (right).

Also Read: No This Photo Is Not Of Indian Troops Killed In Galwan Valley

The image of PM Modi bowing with folded hands is originally from 2014, where he was exchanging greetings with the then Mayor of Tumkur, Geeta Rudresh in the airport. BOOM found a cached version of a 2014 article in Vijay Karnataka which featured the image. The article reported that the prime minister had visited Tumkur to inaugurate the India Food Park.

The same image was fact-checked by BOOM Hindi earlier. Social media posts had then falsely claimed that PM Modi was pictured bowing to industrialist Gautam Adani's wife, Priti Adani.

BOOM has fact-checked various other claims in the aftermath of the Galwan Valley clash which can be read here.