A photo of a fabricated statement attributed to the Italian Embassy criticising Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remarks about Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been shared by news outlets such as Republic, Dainik Bhaskar English, and social media users as an official statement.
BOOM found that the statement is not real and was posted by a satire account that was impersonating the Italian Embassy. It is unrelated to the official Italian Embassy in India.
The photo surfaced amid recent remarks by Gandhi at the Rachnatmak Congress National Convention in New Delhi, where he allegedly said Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi's foreign policy was all about hugging leaders. Using a mock hug with party leader Sandeep Dikshit, he taunted Modi’s interactions with Meloni.
The Claim:
The photo of the statement in which the Italian Embassy allegedly expressed "deep concern and strong disapproval regarding the derogatory remarks attributed to" Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is being shared as an authentic statement from the official embassy.
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News outlets like Republic, Dainik Bhaskar English, and Gujarat Samachar also shared this false claim on their websites.
What We Found:
1) Photo posted by account impersonating the Italian Embassy
BOOM traced the X handle that first posted the viral photo and found that @AINga5f is a satire account, as stated in its bio, and is not related to the official Italian Embassy account. The account has since been deleted
2) No statement from Italian Embassy
BOOM looked at the official website of the Italian Embassy and did not find any press releases condemning Rahul Gandhi. The last statement was released on July 24, and predates the Congress event.
We have reached out to the Italian Embassy in India, and the story will be updated upon receiving a response.