An image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi posing for a picture with several others is being shared with users identifying the woman as YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who has been recently arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan.

What have users said?: Those sharing the image have uploaded it with a Hindi caption that said, “Spy Jyoti Malhotra is an old player.”

Is the claim true?: No, the woman in the image is being misidentified as Malhotra. The photo actually dates back to April 2024, when PM Modi had interacted with top gamers.

How did we find that out?: A simple Google Lens search directed us to the same visual published in a report by The News Minute.

• The report said that PM Modi had met some top gamers of the country on 11 April 2024, ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections.
• PM Modi interacted with gamers like Animesh Agarwal, Mithilesh Patankar, Payal Dhare, Naman Mathur, and Anshu Bisht.
• The report further mentioned that PM Modi had interacted with the gamers about the future of gaming.

Other sources: Team WebQoof found a video published on the official YouTube channel of PM Modi, which showed him interacting with the gamers.

• The video identified the woman as Payal Dhare.
• The viral image could be seen towards the end of the clip at around 31:36 timestamp.
• The YouTube video was posted on 13 April 2024 with a title said, “India’s top gamers meet PM Modi | Game On ft. NaMo.”

• Dhare, too, had shared visuals from her interaction with PM Modi on her official Instagram handle named ‘payalgamingg’.
• The image was shared on 13 April 2024 with a caption that mentioned, “Honored to have met Honorable Prime Minister Shree Narendra Modi to discuss the future of gaming in India!..”