A morphed graphic went viral as per which, Hindi News channel, ‘Aaj Tak’ credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for India’s first medal in 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The text on the viral graphic, which had the photo of anchor Sweta Singh and PM Modi, said was captioned in Hindi, which when translated reads: PM Modi made India win the first Olympic medal.
Believing the viral claim to be true, several netizens are massively sharing and heavily criticising the channel. This image has been widely circulated after weightlifter Mirabai Chanu bagged the silver medal in the women’s 49 kg event on 24 July 2021. On the first day of the Games, Chanu lifted a total of 202 kg and registered India’s first win.
The graphic comprises of a picture of popular anchor Shweta Singh and PM Modi. The text on the graphic says ‘PM Modi won the first Olympic medal’. Twitter user Gareeshma Shukla while sharing this graphic wrote, “If bootlicking were an Olympic sport, Shweta Singh would bring gold for Modi”.
To check the authenticity of the fact, a reverse image search was conducted. The reverse image search led to a Facebook post of Aaj Tak posted on July, 2019 and the post had a graphic with a picture of anchor Shweta Singh and PM Modi, saying, ‘Will PM Modi win the World Cup?’ This program was broadcasted when the Indian men’s cricket team was playing in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 which was held in the United Kingdom.
The graphic was posted on the day India was supposed to play the semi-final match against New Zealand in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. India lost the match and failed to go to the finals.
Furthermore, on comparing the viral image with the original one, we found that the former had the text edited and three medals – gold, silver, and bronze – were superimposed on the symbol of the cricket world cup.
Upon the show ‘Khabardar’ on Aaj Tak’s YouTube channel and found that the channel did a show on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on 24 July, however, the show was hosted by anchor Chitra Tripathi and not Sweta Singh. Also, the show did not carry the viral photo.
Thus, the viral claim is false and not related to the Tokyo Olympics in any way. The picture of the old promo of Hindi news channel Aaj Tak has been edited and shared with the wrong claim. Chanu Saikhom Mirabai is India’s sole medal winner at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 till now. While she was conferred with a silver medal and a memorable podium tribute for her achievement, the medal doesn’t accompany any official cash prize from the International Olympic Committee.
As is the custom with nations that send athletes to Olympics, Chanu’s effort will be rewarded with cash prize from her home country. Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Viashnaw announced a Rs 2 crore reward for Chanu. Manipur Chief Minister M Biren Singh announced a Rs 1 crore reward while Indian Olympics Association added a Rs 10 lakh reward to further the Olympian’s winnings.
