An image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from his 2015 visit to China is being shared across different social media platforms. In the picture that has now gone viral, PM Modi can be seen outside the Terracotta Warriors Museum in Xian, surrounded by security personnel.
However, what catches one's attention the most is PM Modi's attire in the purported image as it shows him in a frock-like outfit. But, as it turns out, the picture is photoshopped and is being used to make all sorts of assumptions.
The claim
PM Modi had stopped by at the Terracotta Warriors Museum during his three-day trip to China in May 2015. Several images from his visit to the museum that houses a large collection of sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China, were shared online.
Five years later, one of those pictures has surfaced on social media, managing to catch the fancy of the netizens. The reason behind the image gaining so much traction is that it features a rather peculiar looking PM Modi.
Users on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest are garnering likes and comments by claiming that PM Modi went to the Terracotta Warriors Museum wearing a long frock-like ensemble.
Fact-Check
A simple Google search for the keywords "PM Modi + Terracotta Warriors Museum" took us to scores of news reports as well as to PM Modi's tweet about his visit to the Xian-based museum.
On contemplating the reports and the PM's tweet, we came across the original version of the now-viral image in which he can be seen donning a plain white kurta-pyjama.
Hello from Xi'an, China. Landed to a warm welcome, followed by a spectacular visit to the Terracotta Warriors Museum pic.twitter.com/E0B2V4RpfU
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 14, 2015
Here is the original picture:
Therefore, International Business Times, India arrived at the conclusion that a photoshopped image is being used to make false claims that PM Modi wore an unusual outfit during his China visit.
Interestingly, PM Modi had spent about an hour going around the Terracotta Warriors Museum, which is a UN world heritage site. In the visitor's book, the PM wrote that he was "deeply impressed" by the extraordinary care with which the museum has been preserved.
The visit to the museum was the PM's first official engagement in Xian, an ancient city steeped in Chinese and Buddhist culture.
