2020 video of a U.S. journalist laughing at an Indian reporter is shared as the one from PM Modi’s 2025 U.S. visit
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently visited the United States for a two-day trip, marking his first official visit after Donald Trump was re-elected as U.S. President. During their joint press conference at the White House on 13 February 2025, Trump responded to a question about anti-India activities in the U.S. by stating that he couldn’t understand the reporter’s accent (here and here). Following this, a video (here, here and here) began circulating on social media, showing an Indian journalist asking a question to Trump while another journalist behind him appeared to be laughing. The clip is being shared with the claim that the journalist in the background was mocking the Indian reporter during the recent 2025 Modi-Trump press conference. Let’s uncover the truth behind this video.
Claim: The viral video shows a U.S. journalist mocking an Indian journalist while asking a question in the recent 2025 joint press conference of Modi and Trump.
Fact: The viral video in question dates back to February 2020, following a press briefing by Donald Trump on the coronavirus outbreak. During this briefing, New York Post reporter Ebony Bowden was allegedly seen mocking Indian journalist Raghubir Goyal while he asked a question about India-U.S. relations. This incident is unrelated to the recent 2025 visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the U.S. Hence, the claim is MISLEADING
To verify the truth, we conducted a reverse image search on Google, which led us to the same video uploaded on X on 28 February 2020. The caption of the post stated that New York Post reporter Ebony Bowden mocked a veteran Indian journalist while sitting at a Trump media briefing. The user further commented that laughing at someone from a different race is inappropriate, even if Americans believe in “freedom of speech.” This confirms that the video is not recent.
Another result led us to the same video uploaded on YouTube by True Scoop TV on 28 February 2020 with the caption, “New York Post Journalist Makes Fun of Indian Reporter at Trump Press Conference. Video Viral.”
Further search led us to reports from several media outlets covering this incident (here and here). According to these reports, U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the media on the coronavirus outbreak at the White House on 26 February 2020. During this briefing, a video went viral showing a New York Post journalist, later identified as Ebony Bowden, allegedly mocking Indian reporter Raghubir Goyal when he asked a question to Trump about India-U.S. relations. The clip, which amassed over three million views, sparked outrage on social media, with many calling Bowden “racist” for allegedly mocking Goyal’s accent and behaviour.
Further research into the incident led us to the full one-hour video of the press conference held by Donald Trump on 26 February 2020 regarding the coronavirus outbreak. This video, uploaded by CNBC Television, captures Trump discussing the need for Americans to prepare for the possibility of a pandemic. At the 25:40 timestamp, Indian journalist Raghubir Goyal can be heard asking a question about India-U.S. relations and Trump’s recent visit to India. In response, Trump praised Narendra Modi as “a great gentleman and a great leader” and stated that “a lot of progress was made” in strengthening ties between the two nations. Additionally, the same conversation can be found in the press briefing archives on the “Trump White House” website, further confirming the context of the video.
Additionally, Prime Minister Modi visited the U.S. for two days in February 2025. During this recent visit, he held a joint press conference with President Trump, marking their first meeting since Trump returned to the White House after the election victory. In the press conference, Trump responded to a question about anti-India activities by citing difficulty understanding the reporter’s accent (here and here). However, the viral video on social media is unrelated to this incident.
To sum up, an old video of a U.S. journalist mocking an Indian reporter is shared the one from PM Mod’s recent 2025 visit to the U.S.