Recent claims suggesting that the White House has unfollowed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter are misleading and based on outdated information. The incident dates back to 2020 when the White House explained that its Twitter account temporarily follows officials’ accounts from host countries during presidential visits to promote related messages. During then-President Donald Trump’s trip to India, the White House followed six Indian accounts, including those of Prime Minister Modi and the Indian Embassy, but unfollowed them shortly after the visit as part of its standard practice.
Propagandist account @nehafolksinger shared a screenshot on X (Formerly Twitter) and wrote, “Oh my god”. The screenshot reads “White House unfollowed PM Modi, #Twitter”. Later, she deleted the post.
Several other users and Influencers also disseminated the same claims. Their posts can be seen here, @DaharwalK, @dhruvrahtee.
The truth behind the claims, Fact Check
As soon as the posts containing the claims came to our notice. Subsequently, we conducted research and analysis regarding the claims. We found that the news was old and the incident was unrelated to any controversy.
To verify the claims made by the users. We performed a relevant keyword search and found a media report regarding the incident. According to reports, In 2020, The White House already had explained that its Twitter handle typically ‘follows’ the accounts of officials from host countries for a brief period during a presidential trip to retweet their messages in support of the visit. During President Donald Trump’s visit to India, the official Twitter handle of the White House (@WhiteHouse) had started ‘following’ the accounts of President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister’s office, the Indian Embassy in the U.S., the U.S. Embassy in India and the U.S. Ambassador to India, Ken Juster. Later, the White House ‘unfollowed’ all these six Twitter handles.
Therefore, it is evident from D-Intent Data’s Fact Check that the claims made by propagandists are not true and have nothing to do with any political tensions between the two countries.
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— D-Intent Data (@dintentdata) January 2, 2025
ANALYSIS: Misleading
FACT: Claims are circulating alleging that The White House has unfollowed Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The fact is that this is old news and has nothing to do with any controversy. In 2020, the White House had already explained that (1/4) pic.twitter.com/UHJfg47oFm
Intent
Political workers are circulating old and misleading news to set their narrative against India and the relations between India and the USA.
Conclusion
Claim– The White House unfollowed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on X (Formerly Twitter).
Fact– The incident dates back to 2020 when the White House explained that its Twitter account temporarily follows officials’ accounts from host countries during presidential visits to promote related messages.
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