*NEW DELHI: A photo of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been sharedthousands of times on Facebook alongside claims he has been declared “bestprime minister of the world” by UNESCO (United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization).*
The claim is false; Modi has never been given that title by UNESCO as theorganisation does not have such an award.
The photo of Modi sitting at a desk has been shared multiple times onFacebook, for example in this post published March 31, 2017, and sharedmore than 6,000 times since.
The text on the photo states: “Congratulations to be best prime minister ofworld. Congratulation to all of us Our PM “Narendra D. Modi” is nowdeclared as the Best PM of the world by UNESCO. Kindly share this. Veryproud to be an Indian.”
The post’s caption alongside the image states: “Finally! UNESCOrecognised!!”
Below is a screenshot of the post:
[image: UNESCO’s title to Indian PM Narendra Modi]
The same photo of Modi has been shared elsewhere on Facebook with a similarclaim, for example here, published September 3, 2016, and shared more than2,800 times.
But the claim is false; UNESCO has never given an award of “best primeminister” to Modi or any other political leader.
Read Top Stories
In an email to AFP’s Hong Kong bureau on April 4, 2019, Roni Amerlan, theEnglish Editor for UNESCO Press Service, said it had never bestowed such anaward.
“I can confirm that UNESCO does not establish rankings of politicalleaders’ performance or give them distinctions such as ‘best primeminister,” Amerlan wrote in the email.
A reverse image search on Google revealed the image in the misleading postshad been captured from this report dated June 12, 2013, on the website ofnews magazine India Today.
The report’s headline states: “A look at Narendra Modi’s new office” andthe photograph is credited to “Shailesh Raval / India Today”.
Below is a screenshot of the photo in the misleading Facebook post (l) nextto the photo in the *India Today* report (r):
[image: UNESCO’s title to Indian PM Narendra Modi]
The *India Today* report makes no reference to Modi receiving a UNESCOaward. – APP/AFP
