KATHMANDU: A picture of a senior citizen woman applauding after Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel announced an increase in old-age allowance in the budget has gone viral on social media.
Some social media users have said that the country’s senior citizens have applauded the government’s decision to increase the old-age allowance through budget speech.
However, the reality of this picture, which went viral without facts and evidence, is different.
Myth: This woman applauded as Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel announced the increase of old-age allowance in the budget for the fiscal year 2078/79.
Posting this picture on social media, a CPM-UML supporter has written: This picture touched my heart as an old mother listens to the budget speech. UML is our hope.
This picture has gone viral on social media on the Facebook page ‘Sahi Pani UML Mein Pani UML’ (UML for all) has been found to be confusing.
Similarly, posting both the pictures on social media, journalist Bhanubhakta Acharya has criticized the government for trying to create confusion by posting fake pictures on social media.
Similarly, another social media user Jaisingh Mahara also satirized both the pictures saying that he could not find any words to explain the second picture. Here is a screenshot of the post he posted on Twitter:
Reality: This is neither the real picture nor the old lady in the picture is a Nepali citizen. Does an increase in the allowance for Nepali citizens has to do anything for a foreign lady? This photo is photoshopped. There is nothing but a photo of Finance Minister Poudel attached to the TV screen.
Actually, this photo is of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mother, watching the swearing-in ceremony after being reelected in the 2019 elections in India. Several Indian media have published the news with this picture. PTI has been given the credit for this picture.
The senior citizen seen in the picture is the mother of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This news published by The Indian Express further confirms this.
Examining the reality of these viral images, it has been concluded that without real facts and evidence, creating distortions on social media, ignoring the impact on others for the sake of one’s own self-interest, and making various posts viral on social media is on the rise.
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