E-Paper
Fact Check: Truth behind viral video showing PM Narendra Modi playing cricket
Fact Check: The viral video is being shared with a false claim that it shows PM Narendra Modi playing cricket.
A video with the claim that it shows PM Narendra Modi playing cricket is being posted by many on various social media platforms. The claim, however, is false and the video doesn’t show the prime minister.
Claim: “Narendra Modi playing to cricket,” wrote a Facebook user and shared the video. Text on the video also claims the same thing. The video shows an elderly person dressed in a white kurta-pajama and a blue pullover batting with his back towards the camera.
Take a look at the video:
Investigation: The first thing we noticed in the video is the use of filter that made the clip a bit blurry. We took a screenshot from the video and conducted a reverse image search and noticed a few other YouTube links with the same clip and claim. We then used the text in the video, “Narendra Modi playing to cricket” and searched it on Twitter. The search led us to a tweet posted on April 25 comprising a YouTube link shared with the same claim. However, in the comments section of the post, many had pointed out that the person in the video is not PM Modi but actor Yograj Singh, who is also cricketer Yuvraj Singh's father.
As our next step, we searched the Instagram page of Yograj Singh. Though the page is not verified, it is followed by Yuvraj Singh and the cricketer often comments on the posts shared on the page.
We found the original video that Yograj Singh had shared on March 14. “Life is more fun, if you play games. Cricket is my passion. What is your game?” he wrote along with the clip.
So, the claim that the viral video shows PM Narendra Modi playing cricket is incorrect. The video shows Yograj Singh.
