Morphed image viral; PM Modi did not shave his head after mother’s demise

Following the demise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mother Heeraben Modi at the age of 99, social media users shared an image of PM Modi with his head shaved and claimed that he tonsured his head as part of rituals after his mother’s death.

A Facebook user named Ashok Kumar posted this imag ¹ e with the same claim. The post went viral and had over 6,800 likes at the time of the writing of this article.

On Twitter, a handle named @ajayhdsharma ² shared this photo with a similar claim.

The photo has gone viral on both Facebook ³ and Twitter ⁴ , with hundreds of users making similar claims.

We have also received multiple app requests on our official mobile app ⁵ to verify the authenticity of the viral image.

Fact Check

Alt News conducted a Google reverse image search that led us to an article published on the Zee Business ⁶ on their web desk from April 2018. The image source cited in the article is PTI.

Below is a comparison of the original image from the article and the image that is viral on social media.

Through the reverse image search, we found that this image was shared on Reddit ⁷ two years ago. It also has a text superimposed on it that suggests it was edited by someone called ‘Loy Machedo’.

On the other hand, the original photo has frequently made appearances in various news articles since 2017. Mint ⁸ and The Economic Times ⁹ have used this image in December 2017 in their respective articles.

Moreover, going through the PM’s Twitter handle, tracking all the public appearances he made since the passing away of his late mother on December 30, Alt News found a tweet by ANI that described PM Modi attending an event in Bengal through video conferencing right after performing the last rites of his mother.

PM Modi can be seen in his usual appearance.

#WATCH ¹⁰ | West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee expresses condolences to PM Modi, over the demise of his mother Heeraben Modi, during an event in Howrah that was attended by PM Modi through video conferencing.

(Source: DD) pic.twitter.com/qNnqaCtxSS ¹¹

— ANI (@ANI) December 30, 2022 ¹²

Additionally, on December 31, i.e., the very next day, PM Modi met Air Marshal PV Iyer (Retd). Here too, one can see him in his familiar avatar.

Delighted to meet Air Marshal PV Iyer (Retd) today. His zest for life is remarkable and so is his passion towards staying fit and healthy. Glad to get a copy of his book. pic.twitter.com/Tkpxu8wP3c ¹³

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 31, 2022 ¹⁴  

By simply looking at these images, we can make sure that PM Modi did not shave his head or his beard during his mother’s last rites, as the viral claims on social media suggest.

While it is unclear what is the original source of the viral image, it can be concluded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not shave his head after the demise of his mother, the image that has been going viral on social media is edited.

Vansh Shah is an intern with Alt News.

The post Morphed image viral; PM Modi did not shave his head after mother’s demise ¹⁵ appeared first on Alt News ¹⁶ .

This content originally appeared on Alt News ¹⁷ and was authored by Vansh Shah.