BJP's Hyderabad candidate wasn't using teleprompter during interview

What is the claim?

Social media users have claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Lok Sabha candidate from Hyderabad, Madhavi Latha, was spotted using a teleprompter during a recent interview with a news channel.

A user on X (formerly Twitter) shared several screenshots of the BJP leader’s interview with journalist and anchor Rajat Sharma during an India TV news program ‘Aap Ki Adalat,’ where one can see her holding a device in her hand (archived here). The user claimed that the device was a remote control unit for a teleprompter, insinuating that the leader from the South Indian state of Telangana had read out her answers from a script.

Latha is contesting against All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) candidate Asaduddin Owaisi, and some AIMIM supporters shared this claim on Facebook. 

Some users also alleged that she is "following" Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in taking help from a teleprompter. Archived versions of such posts can be viewed here and here.

Screenshots of the viral claim circulating online. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, this claim is false. Latha was not using a teleprompter in the interview. She was holding a digital prayer device in her interaction with Rajat Sharma.

What did we find?

We first looked for the original interview footage and found that the news channel India TV had uploaded the full interview on YouTube on April 6. In this video, we saw Latha wearing a device on her middle and ring finger, which can be seen throughout the interview as she refers to a set of papers while giving her responses.

We got a clear glimpse of the device around the 1:19:10 mark in the video uploaded by India TV. This device seems to have a small vertical digital timer and two round buttons at the top.

Some social media users also commented on some of the above-mentioned online posts that the device seen in Latha’s hand is a digital prayer device. We searched online to find such devices on e-commerce websites and found a device very similar to the one seen in Latha’s hand. The device was listed as a digital tally counter for prayer and meditation, which helps count prayers/chants. We also found other similar prayer devices resembling the one seen in Latha’s hand.

Comparison of the prayer devices seen in the viral photo and some available on an e-commerce website. (Source: X/Flipkart/Screenshots)

We also compared this prayer device with wireless teleprompter remotes available for sale in India on e-commerce websites. We found that the device in Latha’s hand differs from similar-looking teleprompter remotes.

A comparison of digital prayer devices and teleprompter remotes available online for sale. (Source: Flipkart/Amazon/Screenshots)

During the interview with Rajat Sharma, Latha looked into some papers placed on her lap a few times, but we could not spot any reading device or teleprompter around her or the studio in the camera footage uploaded by India TV. She also faced the interviewer and the audience members almost all the time while giving her answers. At one point, she also chanted some mantras with her eyes closed.

Latha has been seen using the same device in her recent interviews with ABP News, Times Now, and other national media outlets.

Madhavi Latha using the prayer device in other interviews (Source: Screenshots/TimesNow/ABPNews)

The verdict

A device, possibly one used for digitally counting prayers and chants, was used by Madhavi Latha during an interview, and visuals from the program have been shared to falsely claim that she used a remote control unit to read responses off a teleprompter. Therefore, we mark this claim as false.