Trump advocating for paper ballots misrepresented as accusing India's Modi of election fraud

After Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Donald Trump vowed to ramp up trade following talks in Washington, a video was shared in social media posts that falsely claimed it showed the US president accusing his counterpart of manipulating elections with the help of electronic voting machines. While Trump told reporters about his desire for the United States to solely use paper ballots while he sat next to Modi in the Oval Office, he did not accuse the Indian leader of election fraud. The video used in the false post in fact shows Trump repeating his criticisms of electronic voting machines to state governors.

"Recently the newly elected US President Donald Trump told the world that Modi won the election by cheating 140 crore (1.4 billion) people," reads part of the Hindi-language caption to a Facebook video shared on March 2, 2025.

The video, which has been viewed more than 32,000 times, shows Trump speaking at a lectern about why he believes voting with paper ballots is superior to using electronic voting machines.

Hindi and English text overlaid on the video reads: "Trump again attacked Modi. Trump said modi win by EVM cheating and fooling 140 crore people. What did Modi's friend say on EVM?"

It was shared after Modi concluded a whistle-stop diplomatic tour in Washington, where he and Trump vowed to ramp up trade, rekindling a bond that defies the new US administration's punitive approach to much of the world (archived link).

Image
Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on March 10, 2025

The video was also shared over 2,000 times alongside similar claims elsewhere in Facebook and X posts.

India's opposition parties have often questioned the reliability of electronic voting machines, which the world's biggest democracy uses to count ballots faster, but the country's Election Commission said the electronic voting machines are "100 percent secure" (archived here and here). 

While Trump has also repeatedly raised concerns about the use of electronic voting machines, suggesting they are less secure than paper ballots and would delay election results, there are no official reports he accused Modi of using the machines to cheat (archived link).

'We want paper ballots'

A keyword search on Google found that Trump told reporters while sitting next to Modi in the Oval Office that his administration was looking to move towards a system of paper ballots.

He had been asked whether he believed the US Agency for International Development (USAID), whose programs he has slashed, had a role in election interference in US elections in 2020 and Indian elections in 2024 (archived link).

A video of the exchange was uploaded on the verified YouTube channel of PBS Newshour on February 14 (archived link).

Trump's answer focuses on the suggestion that the 2020 US elections were rigged, and does not touch on India's use of electronic voting machines.

He said: "We're looking to go to a system now, much different, where (we have) one-day voting, voter ID, and we have to do that, and paper ballots, we want paper ballots."

Trump and Modi held a joint press conference after their meeting, and there was also no mention of India's use of electronic voting machines (archived link).

Governors working session

Keyword searches on Google found the video included in the false post shows Trump advocating for paper ballots at the Governors Working Session on February 22.

The president's full remarks were uploaded to the White House's verified YouTube channel (archived link).

The section used in the false posts was taken from the YouTube video's 50:09 mark

Image
Screenshot comparison of the clip used in the false post (left) and the footage posted on YouTube by the White House (right)

Trump's only mention of India or Modi comes during an earlier section of the speech, where he discussed the so-called Department of Government Efficiency's "war on government waste, fraud and abuse".

At the 40-minute mark he says, "Twenty-one million dollars going to my friend Prime Minister Modi in India for voter turnout. We're giving 21 million dollars for voter turnout in India. What about us?"

Image

Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.

Contact us