Did PM Modi Travel in a Taxi in Italy? No, Pics Are Morphed!

Both photos of PM Modi's visit to the Vatican were morphed to make the convoy look like taxis.

A set of two photographs showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi exiting a Volkswagen sedan are being shared on social media, with the claim that PM Modi had to use a taxi during his visit to Italy, where leaders of the G20 economies met.

The photos show Modi getting out of a car, which was marked by a yellow 'Taxi' sign on its top and a rectangular sticker for a taxi mobile application on its rear. They are being shared claiming that the Prime Minister was received in Italy in a taxi.

However, we found that the photographs were edited. In the original photos shared by news agency ANI via Twitter, there are no 'taxi' signs or stickers on the Volkswagen sedan which Modi is seen getting out of.

CLAIM

The set of two photos is being shared with both Hindi and English test, claiming that PM Modi had been using a taxi to get around Rome and that it was shameful.

More claims across Facebook can be seen here, here and here while posts on Twitter can be seen here, here and here.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

We looked at photographs of PM Modi's Italy tour shared by news agency ANI's verified Twitter handle and found the original photographs. There, we found that both photographs had been morphed to make the Volkswagen sedan look like a taxi.

IMAGE 1

The first photograph was morphed to include a 'Taxi' sign atop vehicles which were a part of the Prime Minister's convoy.

Tweeting a set of three photos on 30 October, ANI shared the original photo. The text stated that the photo showed Modi departing from the Vatican after meeting the Pope.

In the photograph on the bottom right, one can clearly notice the absence of a yellow 'Taxi' sign on top of the vehicle.

IMAGE 2

The second photograph shows the same vehicle from behind, with blue signage for a taxi-related mobile application across the bumper.

The second photograph was also shared by ANI.

Tweeting a set of four photos, the agency noted that it showed PM Modi arriving at the Papal palace to meet Pope Francis.

Here, in the first photo, it can be seen that the car which ferried PM Modi did not have a blue sticker in the back.

ANI also shared a video of the Prime Minister arriving at the Pope's residence, in which the back of the vehicle is clearly visible without any signage.

Evidently, a set of two morphed photos is going viral on social media, with the claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to travel in a taxi during his time in Italy.

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