Posts from multiple users on social media platform X on Friday shared an image of an alleged Truth Social post of United States President Donald Trump’s angry rant against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, the image is fake and no such post was shared.
On Wednesday, Trump imposed a 25 per cent tariff on goods imported from India from August 1, along with an unspecified penalty for buying Russian weapons and oil, potentially straining relations with the world’s most populous democracy. He also declared the Indian economy dead in the water.
The US decision singled out India more severely than other major trading partners, and threatened to unravel months of talks between the two countries, undermining a key strategic partner of Washington and a counterbalance to China.
Today, an X user, who seems to be Indian from previous posts, shared an image allegedly showing a post by Trump on Truth Social with the caption: “Disgruntled lover.”
The post in the image stated: “So hard to believe that Prime Minister Modi still hasn’t responded to my tweets, statements, or tariff concerns. We gave India so much — great deals, defence support, big crowds — and yet, total silence. Not even a thank you!
“Don’t forget — I’m the one who got India and Pakistan to declare a ceasefire. Nobody else could do that. Many people said I should’ve gotten the Nobel Prize for it!! India continues to benefit while American workers suffer. I’ve always liked Modi, but this kind of disrespect will NOT be forgotten. Bad for business. Bad for friendship.”
The image, shared at 9:47am, also claimed that Trump’s post was shared and liked by several users on Truth Social.
The post on X gained 68,800 views.
The same image was also shared by other Indian accounts on X, as can be seen here, here, here and here, gathering 295,400, 21,300, 144,600 and 293,700 views, respectively.
The image was also widely shared across WhatsApp groups.
A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality and keen public interest in new trade measures taken by the US and how they impact bilateral relations with India.
Reviewing the image via fake image detection tools, such as Fake Image Detector, showed that it flagged it as being “computer-generated or modified”, while another version of the tool said the authenticity of the image was 32 per cent.
Checking Trump’s account on Truth Social — which is used by the US president for various announcements — yielded no such posts.
Similarly, no such posts were shared on his X handle as well.
Going through the archives of Trump’s X handle also showed that no such posts were deleted.
A reverse image and keyword search yielded no credible news reports from international, American or Indian media outlets regarding the alleged post on Truth Social.
Therefore, the fact-check determined that the claim that a viral image shows US President Donald Trump’s angry rant against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a post on Truth Social is false. The image is fake and doctored.
This fact check was originally published by iVerify Pakistan — a project of CEJ-IBA and UNDP.
