Fact Check: Visuals of Prime Minister Narendra Modi accepting upside-down artwork depicting Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore are being widely shared on social media.


The claim: The visuals are being shared to take a dig at PM Modi, who was campaigning for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal.


Who shared it?: All India Trinamool Congress' (TMC) official X (formerly Twitter) account shared a video of the incident. The party's MP Sagarika Ghose, too, shared a photo of the prime minister holding the artwork upside down.



TMC's handle and leaders shared these visuals. (Source: X/Screenshot)


(Archives of more claims on social media can be seen here and here.)


Is it true?: No, the visuals are misleading as the video is cropped.


In the full video, people around PM Modi realise the error and rectify it promptly. The screenshot takes the incident out of context.


How did we find out the truth?: We went to PM Modi's verified YouTube channel to look for visuals of his recent rallies in West Bengal.


This led us to a video of his campaign speech in West Bengal's Barrackpore, streamed live on 13 May.




  • At the 2:45-minute mark in this video, the prime minister can be seen standing up to receive the artwork.

  • When he is first handed Tagore's portrait, it is upside-down, as claimed.

  • However, other people sharing the stage with PM Modi quickly rectify the error, and turn the portrait the right side up.



Conclusion: A clipped video and an out-of-context screenshot of PM Modi holding art depicting Rabindranath Tagore upside-down is being shared on social media to take a dig at the leader.


This story was originally published by The Quint, as part of the Shakti Collective. Except for the headline, excerpt, and the opening introduction para, this story has not been edited by ABPLIVE staff.  


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