Nirmala Sitharaman Endorsing An Investment Plan? Here’s The Truth.

A video of the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, endorsing an investment plan went viral on social media. In the video, Nirmala Sitharaman talks about a government financial project. She says that every Indian citizen who invests ₹21000 in this project will receive payment of 1 million to 500 thousand rupees monthly. 

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However, as we investigated, we came to know that the video has been edited. Here’s the fact check.

Fact Check 

We noticed some abnormalities in the viral video. The voice of Nirmala Sitharaman sounded different. Therefore, we took screenshots from the viral video and conducted a reverse image search. This led us to a report published in India Today on 15 March 2024 which contained an image similar to the screenshots from the viral video. We could see Nirmala Sitharaman in an attire similar to the one in the viral video. Moreover, the chair was similar as well. The image’s caption read, “Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at India Today Conclave 2024.”

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Taking this clue we conducted a relevant keyword search which led us to a video premiered on the official YouTube channel of India Today on 15 March 2024. The video shows Nirmala Sitharaman speaking at the India Today Conclave, 2024 on 15 March 2024. Watching the video carefully, we found several similarities between the viral video and the YouTube video, for example, the attire of Nirmala Sitharaman, and the chair she was sitting in. From the timestamp 12:37, we noticed the hand movements of Nirmala Sitharaman matching the viral video. There, she can be heard answering a question on “North-South Divide”. Nowhere in the video does Nirmala Sitharaman talk about any investment plan.

A comparison between the viral video and the original video can be seen below. 

This makes it clear that the viral video has been edited.

Conclusion 

From our investigation, we can say that the viral video has been altered. As claimed, Nirmala Sitharaman was not talking about any investment plan. The viral video has been edited. In the original video, Nirmala Sitharaman was interacting with journalists at the India Today Conclave, 2024.