PM Modi Did Not Oppose EVMs, Viral Video is Old And Edited

A video of PM Modi is going viral on social media, suggesting his opposition to EVMs. In the 30-second clip, PM Modi is heard saying, “Our country is poor, and people are illiterate; they don’t know much. Even in educated countries around the world, when elections happen, people still stamp ballot papers by reading names, even today.” However, the video is old and taken out of context.

Frequent fake news peddler IP Singh of the Samajwadi Party shared the video, wrote, “If we come to power, we will stop elections through EVM. Modi ji opposing EVM. Modi ji giving the example of America for conducting elections using ballot papers. Dear countrymen, you should see and hear the difference between what Modi ji says and what he does.” (Archived link)

Journalist Prem Kumar wrote, “Even in the most educated countries, people give their stamp of approval by looking at the name: Modi Wow! Modiji turned out to be a supporter of elections through ballot paper.” (Archived link)

Handle Dushyant Singh Magar wrote, “If we come to power, we will stop elections through EVM. Modi ji opposing EVM. Modi ji giving the example of America for conducting elections using ballot papers. Dear countrymen, you should see and hear the difference between what Modi ji says and what he does.” (Archived link)

Shobhnath Rao wrote, “If we come to power, we will stop elections through EVM. Ans- Has EVM stopped working Modi ji? Modi ji opposing EVM. Ans – #EVM RSS/Modi is in trouble. Modi ji gave the example of America for conducting elections using ballot papers. Answer- Modi ji is an expert in telling lies Dear countrymen, you should see and hear the difference between what Modi ji says and what he does. Ans-The difference between what Modi ji says and what he does is like the sky and the ground.” (Archived link)

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Fact Check

To verify the viral video, we conducted a keyword search and found the video on PM Modi’s YouTube page. It was uploaded on December 3, 2016, with the title ‘PM Modi at Parivartan Rally in New Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh.‘ After watching the video in full, we found that the viral clip was taken out of context.

In the video, we located PM Modi’s statement at the 55:07 timestamp. In his complete statement, PM Modi said, “Some people say that our country is poor, that people are illiterate. But when elections are held, even the educated countries of the world use ballot papers, whereas India, which some call illiterate and poor, now knows how to vote by pressing a button.”

In the actual video, PM Modi was highlighting that, despite perceptions of India as a poor and illiterate country, the nation has successfully adopted modern voting technology, like EVMs, compared to other countries that still use ballot papers. The viral clip misrepresents his stance.

Claim	PM Modi opposed the use of EVMs.
Claimed by	IP Singh, Prem Kumar, Dushyant Singh Magar and Shobhnath Rao.
Fact Check	In the unedited video, PM Modi highlighted India’s successful attempt to adopt EVMs, despite being perceived as a poor and illiterate country.

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