Claim
An image purportedly showing a front page published by The New York Times has currently been revived with a false claim that the newspaper published an article about Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the headline, "LAST, BEST HOPE OF EARTH". The strapline in the image further reads, "WORLD'S MOST LOVED AND MOST POWERFUL LEADER, IS HERE TO BLESS US"(sic.) The photo is now being shared with a Hindi caption that translates to, "Front page of today's New York Times. Is there anything left to say after this?" (Original Text in Hindi: आज के न्यूयार्क टाइम्स का मुख पृष्ठ। इस के बाद भी कुछ कहने के लिए बचता है क्या?) BOOM also received the image on its WhatsApp tipline number (7700906588) with a request for verification.
Fact
BOOM had debunked the photo earlier when it was viral with a similar false claim in 2021. Upon observing the photo closely, we noticed several inaccuracies in the photo. Several social media users pointed out that the month in the newspaper image was spelt incorrectly as 'Setpember' instead of 'September'. Also, the headline 'LAST, BEST HOPE OF EARTH' and the caption below PM Modi's image "His highness, Modiji is signing on a blank a4 paper to bless our country...har har modi" indicate that the photo was created as satire. Other than these inaccuracies, we found that the actual front page of the New York Times for September 26, 2021, was completely different when compared to the viral image.