Mumbai: In a shameful turn of events, a TV news anchor at India Today mistakenly read out a tweet from a parody account of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on live television. This mishap occurred as global leaders, including PM Modi, extended their congratulations to Republican candidate Donald Trump for his historic win in the US Presidential Elections.

In the excitement to report PM Modi’s message to Trump, the anchor read a tweet from a parody X (formerly Twitter) account, thinking it was an official statement. The post claimed that Modi planned a call with Trump to discuss various issues, including violence against Hindus in Bangladesh, Khalistani terrorism allegedly enabled by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the war in Ukraine.

The video clip quickly went viral online, leaving netizens amused. The parody account had a similar profile picture to PM Modi’s verified account but included the word "Parody" in brackets. While reading the post, the anchor mistakenly described it as a strong statement by Modi, referencing recent attacks against Hindus and temples by Khalistani extremists.

Realising the error, the anchor immediately corrected himself, saying, "I'm sorry, I've got it wrong," and went on to read the genuine congratulatory message from Modi's official account, which has over 103 million followers.

The incident sparked mixed reactions online. Some users sympathised with the anchor, noting that the parody account could easily deceive anyone at first glance. However, others emphasised the need for proper verification before broadcasting to a large audience.

The situation also drew comments from Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, who criticised the news channel, referring to a recent tweet from one of its journalists about alleged biases in American election coverage. "Parody account tweet makes it to headlines of newstainment channel report. Just a few hours ago, was reading tweets giving lessons to American news channels about bias, fake narrative, and election coverage," she tweeted.

In a humorous twist, a parody account of Donald Trump also responded to the Modi parody account, keeping the spirit of satire alive on the platform.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.

“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.

The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.

Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.