Pictures of Manmohan Singh and PM Modi at G20 summits are compared with a misleading narrative - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 16, 2022
A photo collage featuring the images of former PM Manmohan Singh and PM Narendra Modi with world leaders is being shared with the claim, “Now we (India) talk eye to eye instead of hiding our head (referring to Manmohan Singh’s picture)”. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: While Manmohan Singh was seen hiding his face at G20 summit gathering in 2011, PM Modi interacted face to face with world leaders at the recent summit.
Fact: The image of Manmohan Singh was captured during the moment when he looked down at the steps for a while during a photo session at G20 summit, 2011. Other pictures and videos show him standing normally and interacting with world leaders face-to-face. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
Reverse image search of the first image in the collage led us to the original image on Reuters website. According to the description, the image shows G20 leaders taking part in a family photo during G20 summit in France on 03 November 2011. The picture shows Manmohan Singh keeping his head down while other leaders interact with each other. However, other pictures show him standing with his head in a normal position and also interacting with fellow representatives from other countries.
Also, a video during this photo session of world leaders shows him standing in a normal posture. However, the photo is clicked during the moment when he looked down at the floor in front of him. Similar visuals of other looking down during this session can be seen here and here.
Similarly, on other occasions, Manmohan Singh interacted with other world leaders ‘face-to-face’. Some pictures of Manmohan Singh interacting with then German president Christian Wulff, Vladimir Putin, and Barack Obama can be seen here, here and here. Also, according to a BBC report, US former President Barack Obama praised Manmohan Singh in his memoir as ‘Wise, thoughtful, honest and chief architect of India’s economic transformation’.
The second image in the post shows Indian PM Narendra Modi interacting with US President Joe Biden and Indonesian President Joko Widodo at G20 summit in Indonesia, 2022.
Factly had earlier debunked another narrative that portrayed Manmohan Singh as a stronger Prime Minister when compared to Narendra Modi by sharing a picture of Manmohan Singh standing in the middle and another picture of PM Modi standing at the corner end of world leaders.
To sum it up,  picture of Manmohan Singh is falsely shared as him bowing before world leaders and compared with the picture of PM Narendra Modi with a misleading narrative.