Viral image of Tamil Nadu BJP MLA holding 'Go Back Modi' placard is edited

What’s the claim?

Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election results, to be declared on June 4, an image has gone viral on social media depicting a woman in a saree holding a placard in front of the Great Adiyogi statue in Coimbatore, a city in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The placard reads, ‘#GoBackModi.’

A user on X (formerly Twitter) shared the image (archived here) with the caption, “Amusing, that the woman stands with a ‘Go Back Modi’ placard in front of Sadhguru’s Ashram.” The post garnered over 14,000 views at the time of writing this story. Archived versions of similar posts can be found here and here.

The image has also gained traction on Facebook, following the same trend. Archived versions of such posts can be accessed here and here.

Screenshot of the viral claims online. (Source: X/Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

What we found

A reverse image search revealed that the original photo was posted by Srinivasan (archived here), a Member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, on X on October 24, 2021, along with several other images.

In the post, Srinivasan mentioned attending an event to thank Modi for the country's vaccination drive during the pandemic. The caption in Tamil read, “Today, I participated in the programme of the youth team thanking Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, who achieved a record of 100 crore vaccinations, in front of Adiyogi Statue in Coimbatore along with State President Mr. Annamalai K., Vinoj P. Selvam BJP, and AP Muruganandam (translated to English)."

The placard she held expressed gratitude, stating, "India creates history: 100 crore vaccinations. Thank you, Modi Ji." Other images captured people alongside her, also holding posters with the same message.

Similar images were also shared by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) president, Vinoj P. Selvam, on his official X (archived here) account on October 24, 2021. All the images depicted people holding posters with a gratitude message but not "#GoBackModi."

Comparison between the original image and the edited image. (Source: X)

According to a report by Hindu Tamil, in October 2021, India reached the significant milestone of administering 100 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. To commemorate this achievement, on October 24, 2021, members of the BJP gathered in front of the Adiyogi statue to express their gratitude to the prime minister for his leadership in the vaccination drive.

Therefore, it it clear Srinivasan was holding a placard related to COVID-19 vaccination, not with a "#GoBackModi" message.

The verdict

An image featuring BJP leader Vanathi Srinivasan holding a poster that reads "#GoBackModi" has been digitally edited. The original image does not include such a message, so we mark this claim as false.