A selfie of singer Kanika Kapoor and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going viral with the claims that Kapoor took the selfie after returning from London, following which she tested positive for the COVID-19 disease. This claim is false; Kapoor had tweeted this image on September 18, 2018 - long before the outbreak began in China.
Kapoor's case has caused an uproar in India, as she allegedly skipped quarantine after returning from an event in London, following which she attended several events in India along where she reportedly came in contact with high-profile politicians.
BOOM was tagged in a tweet containing the viral image .
After searching through social media with the keywords "Kanika Modi Corona", we came across several other posts containing the picture and making similar claims.
The viral claims insinuate that the image shows Modi meeting Kapoor, while the later was infected with the highly contagious SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Fact Check
BOOM did a reverse image search with the viral image, and found an 18-month-old tweet by Kapoor herself, which contained the viral selfie.
The tweet was made on September 18, 2018 - a day after Modi's birthday - with the caption, "Happy birthday @narendramodi Ji 🙏."
Since the image was taken more than a year before the outbreak of COVID-19, and more than 18 months before Kapoor was tested positive, it does not show Kapoor meeting Modi while being infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
