Fact Check by Fact Crescendo: This election has seen numerous clipped and edited videos of popular politicians circulating on social media. Many users are falling prey to these misleading viral posts. It's important to note that these fake videos and posts are often spread in a straightforward manner, making them appear truthful. One such video of Rahul Gandhi has gone viral, falsely claiming that he predicted Narendra Modi would become Prime Minister again in one of his election speeches.
In the video, Rahul Gandhi says, “Narendra Modi will be the Prime Minister of India. Let me tell you the truth in the beginning. 2024, June 4 Narendra Modi will become the Prime Minister of India. You take it in writing. Modi Narendra ji will become the Prime Minister of India. Whatever we had to do. Whatever work and hard work had to be done, we have done it. Now you see, our alliance is not going to get a single seat in Uttar Pradesh. They (referring to the audience) are also smiling, they also know that what Rahul Gandhi is saying is true, Narendra Modi is becoming the Prime Minister of the country. End of the story. Goodbye, thank you.”
The caption of the viral video states, “Rahul Gandhi has finally spoken the truth.”
Fact Check
We started our investigation by running a keyword search on YouTube, resulting in the original video uploaded on Rahul Gandhi’s official YouTube channel on May 10, 2024. According to the caption, this video of Rahul Gandhi was from a public meeting organised in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. We reviewed the portion of the video from 46:09 minutes to 47:42 minutes, where the viral video segment is found.
During this timeline, Rahul Gandhi said, “What is true is that on June 4, 2024, Narendra Modi will no longer be the Prime Minister of India. You take it in writing, Narendra Modi cannot become the PM of India. Whatever work and hard work we had to do, we have done it. Now you see, our alliance is not going to get even a single seat less than fifty in Uttar Pradesh. And in the rest of the country, in every state, we have stopped the BJP.”
After this, he further said, “These media people who belong to Adani will not tell the truth. These are our brothers, we love them, we love them, but they have to take a salary, that is why they cannot write this truth. They have to raise children, but if you look at their faces now, they are also smiling because they also know. What is happening is that whatever Rahul Gandhi is saying is true and Narendra Modi is not becoming PM. As it is said in English, goodbye, thank you."
It is important to note that in the original video of Rahul Gandhi’s speech, words like "No" have been edited out. It is clear from the original video that he is saying that Narendra Modi will no longer be the Prime Minister after June 4, 2024.
In our search, we came across a post on Rahul Gandhi’s official X account on May 15. In the post, he wrote that regardless of how much the ‘Factory of Lies’ BJP tries to console itself, it will not make any difference. He reiterated that Narendra Modi will no longer be the Prime Minister after June 4. It is evident from this post that Rahul Gandhi made this statement in response to the edited video circulating on social media.
Below in this post, quoting the official X handle of Congress, a comparison video between Rahul Gandhi’s edited video and the viral video has been posted. Additionally, it is said, “Drowning BJP and Narendra Modi’s fake news factory now have the support of fake videos only. “As a matter of habit, they made a fake video by editing Rahul Gandhiji’s speech and then were caught red-handed.”
After conducting a comparative analysis between the viral video and the video we obtained, it became clear that the edited video of Rahul Gandhi was spread by removing the word ‘No’ from the original video. This manipulation altered the context of his statement, leading to misinformation being circulated.
Conclusion
Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral video to be altered. After fact-checking, it was determined that in the viral video, Rahul Gandhi does not say that Narendra Modi will become the Prime Minister again. Instead, the word ‘NOT’ has been edited out from the original video, altering the meaning of his statement.
(Disclaimer: This story was originally published by Fact Crescendo, and republished by India TV as part of the Shakti Collective.)
