Indian govt photoshops image of Modi’s Chennai visit

India's spin doctors face flak over 'doctored' Modi image

NEW DELHI: India's government has faced mockery on social media for tweeting an apparently doctored photo of its image-conscious prime minister surveying the flood-hit southern state of Tamil Nadu.

Narendra Modi tweeted an image of himself looking out of a helicopter window as he flew over the area on Thursday, saying he was "pained by the devastation" he had seen.



The scene through the window was barely visible, but when the government's press department later tweeted what appeared to be the same image, the view through the window was sharp and clearly showed flooding.

The department later deleted that tweet, but not before thousands of followers had taken screen grabs of the apparently manipulated image.



The prime minister is a prolific tweeter with more than 16 million followers.

Here are some of the tweets:

"Very silly of @PIB-India to photo-shop @PMOIndia aerial survey of Chennai," tweeted Prashanth Rao, referring to the state capital.

"Worst photoshop ever!" tweeted Wilbur Sargunaraj. "Why does our PM need false and exaggerated propaganda???"

Worst Photoshop Job ever! @PIB_India Why does our PM need false and exaggerated propaganda???! #fail https://t.co/kOhSS10duV

— Wilbur Sargunaraj (@wilburworldwide) December 3, 2015

C’mon, @PIB_India. Stay away from Photoshop. pic.twitter.com/VpxHtj7mHG

— Tanvi Madan (@tanvi_madan) December 3, 2015

https://twitter.com/brownbrumby/status/672420254501371904

https://twitter.com/brownbrumby/status/672428409180434432

Amazing. It's not as if the PM didn't go visit Chennai so why the heck resort to Photoshopping images!!! https://t.co/MEt6ol8O59

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) December 3, 2015

https://twitter.com/brownbrumby/status/672429811109769218