A photo showing an India Today magazine edition on the violence in Manipur along with a photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the cover is morphed and fake.
The viral photo shows an India Today magazine cover along with PM Modi's photo in the center with the title - "Manpur: Shameful blunders. Inept state leadership and delayed action by the center caused mayhem in the state. What can be done".
Clashes between the Meitei community and the Kuki tribe in Manipur started May 3, 2023, with fresh violence erupting on July 26, 2023, in the North Eastern state's Moreh Bazar area, according to news reports. The role of the Manipur state government under BJP CM N. Biren Singh has been criticised for failing to control the violence in the state. PM Modi has also faced criticism from civil society groups and opposition parties on the role of the central government in handling the situation with the opposition demanding that he should address the parliament on the issue.
BOOM received the viral photo on our WhatsApp helpline number (+91 77009 06588) inquiring about it.
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's photo has been morphed and added to the India Today magazine cover, which originally has only Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh's photo.
On checking India Today's August 2023 edition we found that the original cover has Singh on it and not Modi. India Today also tweeted the magazine cover story and the magazine cover photo on July 31, 2023.
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The same cover with Manipur CM's photo can be seen on India Today's website in the August edition. BOOM also accessed a copy of the magazine and it also has only CM Singh on it. The title heading puts the onus on the state and central government for the situation in the state.
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We also found that the edited photo of the India Today magazine cover was tweeted out by a Twitter user criticising the media group for putting only CM Singh's photo on it and not PM Modi's photo. This is the same edited cover photo that is being shared on WhatsApp with the misleading claim.
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A comparison of the original and edited magazine covers can be seen below.