Old video shared with false claims that PM Modi was abused during his recent US visit

This video shows Howdy Modi program held in Houston, USA in the year 2019. It has nothing to do with PM’s recent US visit.

A video showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi shaking hands with several people on stage has gone viral with a claim that the audience was hurling abuses at PM Modi during his recent visit to the United States.

The video shows  P M Modi standing on the stage and a crowd of thousands of people is also visible in it. In the video we can hear some people allegedly abusing Prime Minister Modi. The caption states “Whatever happened in America, I strongly condemn it.”

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Fact Check

We found the same video uploaded by a Facebook user named Gaurav Singh on 24 September 2021.The caption mentioned that PM Modi was welcomed in a grand fashion in America. The video was 30 seconds-long and showed audience members raising “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Vande Matram” slogans.

In further search we found a video on the official YouTube channel of PMO India which showed images similar to the viral video. This video was found to have aired on 22 September 2019.  The caption reads, “PM Modi and President Trump attend ‘Howdy Modi’ – Indian community event in Houston, USA | PMO”. In this video you can see pictures similar to the video going viral from 1.43.30 to 1.43.50. In this you will see that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting all the people standing on the stage to welcome him.

The Howdy Modi  programme, was a community summit hosted by Texas India Forum (TIF) for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then President of the United States Donald Trump on Sunday, September 22, 2019, at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. A blue banner in the back reading ‘Shared Dreams, Bright Futures’ can also be seen in both videos. Here is a comparison between the visuals from the viral video and the original Howdy Modi event video.

Moreover, we could not find any credible reports of crowd abuse directed towards the PM during the 2019 Texas event. A comparison with the viral clip indicates that another audio track may have been dubbed over the pro-India slogans, though we were unable to confirm this.

Conclusion

Fact Crescendo found that the claim made along with the viral video is Missing the Context.  This video is of Howdy Modi program held in Houston, USA in the year 2019. This video has nothing to do with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent US visit.