By: Vanita Ganesh
June 17 2024
No, Indian PM Modi did not refuse to shake U.S. President Biden’s hand at G7 Summit in Italy
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Screenshots of posts claiming Indian Prime Minister Modi ignored US President Biden’s handshake. (Source: X (formerly Twitter)/ Modified by Logically Facts)
Fact-Check
The Verdict False
The man next to PM Narendra Modi in the video is not President Joe Biden. Modi did meet Biden and shake his hand on the sidelines of the G7 summit.
What is the claim?
Social media users have shared an eight-second video on X (formerly Twitter) claiming that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi refused to shake U.S. President Joe Biden's hand during the recent Group of 7 (G7) Summit in Italy.
In the video, Modi walks alongside a man in a suit at the G7 venue. The man extends his hand, but Modi continues walking, seemingly ignoring the handshake. Later on in the clip, Modi is seen meeting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The video was shared with this caption: “By not shaking hands with Joe Biden, Modiji showed America its worth. The consequence of interfering in our elections is being shown your worth in front of the world (translated from Hindi)!!” Archived versions of these posts can be accessed here and here.
The G7 Summit, attended by leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, was held from June 13 to June 15, 2024, in Fasano, Italy. Modi participated in the G7 Outreach session on June 14 and engaged in bilateral discussions with several world leaders.
Screenshots of posts with captions in Hindi claiming Modi ignored Biden’s handshake. (Source: X (formerly Twitter)/ Modified by Logically Facts)
However, the claims made in the viral posts are false.
What we found
A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video led us to a longer and clearer video uploaded by the YouTube channel for the 2024 G7 Summit (archived here) titled: “Arrivals of the G7 Heads of Delegation - G7 Summit.”
In fact, at 42:46 in the video, the man can be seen walking with Biden himself. A photo from the same moment has also been uploaded to the Summit’s official Flickr account (archived here). A comparison shows that the man in the now-viral video is not Joe Biden.
Stills of the staff member with Modi and Biden at the G7 Summit in Italy. (Source: YouTube/G7 Italy 2024)
We have written to the media division of G7 Italia, the 2024 Summit host, to ascertain the identity of the man seen in the viral video.
It's worth noting that Modi did meet with Biden on the sidelines of the summit after participating in the G7 Outreach event. Modi shared photos of their handshake on X on June 14, stating that both countries will “continue working together to advance global welfare.” An archived version of the post can be accessed here.
The verdict
The man in the viral video is not U.S. President Joe Biden, and the claim that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi refused to shake hands with Biden at the G7 Summit is false.
