This photo shows a TV crew working on a television production on a beach in Scotland

  • This article is more than one year old.
  • Published on October 23, 2019 at 04:30
  • 3 min read
  • By AFP India
A photo has been shared hundreds of times in multiple posts on Facebook and Twitter alongside a claim it shows a camera crew filming Indian prime minister Narendra Modi cleaning a beach in southern India. The claim is false; the video shows a TV crew working on a television production in Scotland in 2005. 

This photo was published here in a Facebook post on October 12, 2019, where it has been shared almost 300 times.

Its caption states: “This is one section of the 25 member crew that shot PM Modi cleaning the five-star beach property this morning. Good job guys.”

Below is a screenshot of the misleading Facebook post:

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The photo has also been published here and here on Facebook, and here and here on Twitter alongside the same claim.

PM Modi refers to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Mahabalipuram, a southern Indian coastal town, from October 11 to 12, 2019, as reported here by AFP.

The Indian leader posted this video of him picking up rubbish from Mahabalipuram beach in Tamil Nadu on October 12, 2019, on Twitter.

The claim in the misleading posts is false. AFP found a screenshot with the same photo published here by a Facebook user as a comment on the misleading post.

Below is a screenshot of the comment:

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The comment reads: “Spreading fake news all around. U r no more an advocate in front of ppl.”

A wider angle of the original photo was published here on the website of Scottish media production company Tayscreen.

TayScreen describes itself on its website as the screen office for certain regional government authorities in Scotland.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading posts (L) and the photo on Tayscreen’s website (R):

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In an email to AFP on October 15, 2019, Tayscreen spokesperson Julie Craik said the photo was taken on a beach in St Andrews, Fife.

She said: “The image was taken around April 2005 by Julie Craik. It was a behind the scenes shot showing crew working on a TV production (live music) for UK broadcaster Channel 4.”

The beach shown in the photo is West Sands Beach in St Andrews, Fife.

Here is a Google user’s image tagged at the beach’s location on Google Maps.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading posts (L) and the Google Maps photo (R):

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