By Kinjal

An image claimed to be the front page of The New York Times has been shared on social media websites. The headline of the alleged article on the Indian Prime Minister reads, “Last, Best Hope of Earth”. The subheading below reads, “World’s most loved and most powerful leader is here to bless us.” The clipping is dated September 26, 2021. Alt News has received several requests to fact-check the image on our official mobile application and WhatsApp helpline (+91 76000 11160).

The same image was shared in September last year against the backdrop of PM Narendra Modi’s three-day-long official visit to the United States.

( Link https://twitter.com/FltLtAnoopVerma/status/1442154427540856838?t=9GxzbCa7ywxokwCiJpzf6w&s=19)

It was widespread on Facebook and Twitter.

Alt News had received numerous requests to verify the image on our official mobile app last year as well.

This image had also made its way to WhatsApp.

Satire believed to be true
Upon taking a closer look at the clipping, we noticed that the word ‘September’ is misspelt as ‘Setpember’. Furthermore, the caption below PM Modi’s image reads, ”His highness, Modiji is signing on a blank A4 paper to bless our country…har har Modi.” The sentence has a tone of mockery.

We checked The New York Times website to locate the front page of the September 26 issue. We discovered that none of the stories was about PM Modi.

Below is a comparison between the genuine September 26, 2021 issue and the morphed issue viral on social media. The differences are evident for instance, the volume number and price. The viral image has the volume number 57,411 whereas the genuine has the volume number 59,193. Similarly, the price mentioned in the viral image is $2.50, and $6.00 in the original.

A Twitter user shared a clipping of The New York Times front-page dated November 9, 2016 which has the same volume number and price as the viral image.

( Link https://twitter.com/sadafjafar/status/1442210435046903813?t=NBmYG9rs0L-wBnBpSRN03A&s=19)

The New York Times also took to Twitter to clarify that the report is fabricated.

( Link https://twitter.com/NYTimesPR/status/1442927211741212678?t=yCVoziHm2h8Joxg-TFzNZQ&s=19)

A satirical post was thus believed to be true and shared with praises for the Indian Prime Minister.