By Shinjinee Majumder

Against the backdrop of the consecration ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, a clip of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni purportedly ‘congratulating’ the Hindus of India is viral on social media. In the clip Meloni is speaking in Italian. Verified handle @WokePandemic tweeted the video and said, “Italian PM Message to Hindus for Ram Mandir”. The tweet garnered close to 900000 views. (Archive)

https://twitter.com/WokePandemic/status/1748991204895965433?t=Wt52rB485T6_3OPDUftRCA&s=19

Another verified handle, @RealBababanaras, tweeted the same video with the same claim. Additionally they also purportedly translated what Meloni said: “Best wishes to the Hindus in India and around the world on the Pran Pratistha ceremony. By restoring your prestige after hundreds of years of struggle, you have set an example for the world. Lots of love.” (Archive)

https://twitter.com/RealBababanaras/status/1749033145759064132?t=QUMa2VNp_-wMVZIZyW_Q0Q&s=19

Several other users circulated the same claim. (Archives- 1, 2, 3, 4)

Fact Check

A reverse image search with one of the key frames of the viral video led us to a tweet by Giorgia Meloni from January 15, 2024, which was her birthday. The caption on the video reads, “Grazie. Siete la mia forza!” in Italian, which translates to ‘Thank you. You are my strength!’

https://twitter.com/GiorgiaMeloni/status/1746925403745169415?t=rJ5Ity2U1aXWQOo7Cjc1wg&s=19

Users asked for the Italian video to be translated into English and Hindi using the Ez Dubs AI dubbing bot. In the English version, it can be seen that Meloni expressed gratitude to her followers for birthday wishes and encouragement, concluding with the message: “You are my strength, I love you.” The translated video does not mention the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony.

https://twitter.com/daydreamer_akp/status/1747229253718970837?t=rGMA8VYuK-BjzmuSWeI0eA&s=19

We also found several news reports related to the video tweeted by Giorgia Meloni. One can find reports here, here and here. We also found another video report by Il Sole 24 ORE where the description contained Meloni’s message: “”Grazie a tutti per gli auguri di compleanno che mi avete mandato privatamente, con i post sui social, davvero tanto incoraggiamento del quale farò tesoro, siete la mia forza, vi voglio bene”.

Read Full Story https://www.altnews.in/did-italian-pm-congratulate-hindus-on-ram-mandir-no-viral-clip-shows-her-thanking-followers-for-birthday-wishes/