A photo is being shared on social media with a claim that it shows a billboard in London with a message from the Queen thanking PM Modi for sending COVID-19 vaccines to the UK. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of a billboard in London with a message from the Queen thanking PM Modi for sending COVID-19 vaccines to the UK.
Fact: It is an edited photo. In the original photo, there is no such message thanking PM Modi. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the photo was run through Google Reverse Image Search, the information regarding the billboard in the photo was found. The billboard in the photo is called ‘The Piccadilly Lights’, which is in London and operated by the ‘Ocean Outdoor’. So, when we searched with relevant keywords, the original photo was found in an article on the ‘Ocean Outdoor’ website. The article was published in April 2020. In the article, it can be read – ‘Expressions of support and inspiration from The Queen will be carried on the Piccadilly Circus screen from 10am on Wednesday, April 7 and run until Sunday, April 19. It is the first time the digital screen has carried a direct message from Her Majesty the Queen.’ The Queen’s message to the nation in April 2020 can be seen here.
In the original photo, there is no such message thanking PM Modi. The following message can be read on the billboard in the original photo – ‘We will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again’.
The original photo was also tweeted by ‘BBC London’ on 8 April 2020.
The photo was later picked up by several meme websites and various messages were put on the billboard by editing the original photo. You can create yours here with a message of your choice.
It is true that Made in India vaccines were sent to the UK recently. Dr. S. Jaishankar, the External Affairs Minister of India, has tweeted – ‘India-UK partnership in action. Made in India vaccines delivered in London today’, on 5 March 2021. The news reports regarding the supply of vaccines to the UK by India can be read here and here.
To sum it up, an edited image is falsely shared as a billboard showing the Queen thanking PM Modi for sending vaccines to the UK.
