Fact Check: Edited video shared as Rahul Gandhi watching PM Modi's swearing-in ceremony in car, here's the truth

What's the claim

A 16-second video purportedly depicting Congress leader and Member of Parliament (MP) Rahul Gandhi seated inside a moving car with a clip displaying Narendra Modi taking oath as India's prime minister has circulated widely on social media.

On the evening of June 9, 2024, Modi was sworn in for his third consecutive term as prime minister at Delhi's Rashtrapati Bhavan. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office in a ceremony attended by thousands of dignitaries, including foreign leaders and Indian luminaries.

The video has been extensively shared on social media platforms, suggesting that Gandhi was watching Modi's oath-taking ceremony. On Instagram, it garnered over 37,000 likes, while on X (formerly Twitter), it was shared with captions like, "Powerful Opposition in India @RahulGandhi" and "Modi 3.0."

Similarly, the video was shared on YouTube (archived here) with a Hindi caption that translated to "Rahul Gandhi enjoying Modi's oath." Archived versions of such posts can be accessed here, here, and here.

However, we found that the clip had been digitally manipulated.

What we found

A reverse image search revealed that the original video was posted on Gandhi's official Instagram account (archived here) on April 17, 2024, accompanied by a Hindi caption translating to "Thinking of India, searching for India!" This video shows that no clips were playing on the mini TV screen in Gandhi's car. Notably, this post predates the first phase of polling for the Lok Sabha elections, which occurred on April 19.

A comparison between a screenshot from the viral video and the original video posted on Gandhi's Instagram account highlights discrepancies. The footage of Modi displayed on the screen in front of Gandhi depicted Modi wearing a gray jacket over a shirt. However, during the 2024 swearing-in ceremony (archived here), Modi wore a white kurta and churidar complemented by a dark blue jacket.

This difference in attire suggests that the footage is not from June 2024 but from Modi's 2019 oath-taking ceremony (archived here).

What is the source of this video?

The viral footage features a watermark of "@amarprasadreddy." Amar Prasad Reddy, who identifies as a BJP functionary, posted the viral video (archived here) on his X account at 1:39 p.m. on June 9, with the caption "Today Evening Scenes."

Additionally, we discovered several other posts (archived here, here) within Reddy's X feed that seemed to mock the Opposition. The edited video, initially created for satirical purposes, has been extensively circulated on social media platforms devoid of its original context.

The verdict

The viral footage claiming to depict Rahul Gandhi watching PM Modi's oath-taking ceremony is digitally altered.

Disclaimer: This story was originally published by Logically Facts, and republished by HT Digital as part of the Shakti Collective.