Quote mocking India falsely attributed to former UK prime minister Liz Truss

  • This article is more than one year old.
  • Published on March 24, 2023 at 07:18
  • 2 min read
  • By Sumit DUBEY, AFP India

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A news graphic about former British prime minister Liz Truss has been doctored and shared in social media posts that falsely claim she mocked India for being a country that "listens with rapt attention to illiterate politicians and godmen". Truss' parliamentary office told AFP the claim is "categorically untrue". The original news graphic from the Bolta Hindustan news portal was in fact about Truss announcing her resignation as prime minister in October 2022.

The manipulated graphic was posted here to Facebook on March 12, 2023.

It carries a photo of Truss alongside a Hindi-language quote attributed to her that translates as: "India is a country that listens with rapt attention to illiterate politicians and godmen."

The term "godmen" is used in India to refer to spiritual gurus who attract a cult following.

A screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on March 20, 2023

The same claim was also shared elsewhere on Facebook here and here and on Twitter here.

The claim, however, is false.

"This is categorically untrue," Truss' parliamentary office told AFP via email on March 17

Doctored graphic

A keyword search on Twitter led to a similar tweet by news portal Bolta Hindustan that was posted on October 20, 2022.

The tweet refers to Truss stepping down as prime minister, after a chaotic six weeks in office. Her resignation came after a forced U-turn on disastrous tax cuts that caused a market meltdown in the midst of a severe cost-of-living crisis.

The Bolta Hindustan tweet uses the same photo of Truss and features the same logo in the top-left corner.

But the Hindi-language quote attributed to her is different.

The Hindi-language text in the Bolta Hindustan graphic reads, "I cannot deliver the promises on which I came to power, so I have resigned - Liz Truss, UK PM".

In her resignation speech outside 10 Downing Street on October 20, Truss said: "I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party. I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King to notify him I am resigning as the leader of the Conservative Party,"

Below is a screenshot comparison between the graphic being shared in the false posts (left) and the tweet from Bolta Hindustan (right):

A screenshot comparison between the graphic being shared in the false posts (left) and the tweet from Bolta Hindustan (right)

Truss -- who previously served as foreign secretary and minister for international trade -- has tweeted a number of times about India in recent years, mostly regarding trade.

But a keyword search on Google did not find any evidence that Truss has spoken negatively about the country or its people.

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