TechPana Fact Check: Did The Former King Meet The Indian Prime Minister? Truth Behind The Viral Photo
पुस ८, २०८२ १७:२२
Kathmandu: A photo claiming that a courtesy meeting took place between former King Gyanendra Shah and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently going viral on social media. The claim has spread widely, especially on Facebook and TikTok.
However, an investigation by the TechPana Fact Check Desk confirms that the viral photo has been tampered with and digitally edited.
Claim
A Facebook profile named Hridayendra Shah Supporter posted a photo on December 21, 2025, at 12:07 PM. The post reads, “#OMG, Breaking News Meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal.”
The photo shows former King Gyanendra Shah and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi standing together for a photograph. As of the time of writing, the post has received more than 1,600 reactions, 127 comments, and 85 shares. See original post, archive post, and screenshot.
Research
Following the circulation of claims that former King Gyanendra Shah met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the TechPana Fact Check Desk tracked the spread of the image on social media. The same photo was first found posted by a Facebook page named Nepal Foolish (©NepalFoolish) at 11:40 AM on Sunday, with a copyright logo. See original post, archive post, and screenshot.
After that, pro-monarch supporters and other social media users reposted the image with their own captions.
Similarly, a Facebook user who mentions Pashupati Khadka, the founding central president of Rajabadi Shahi Yuva Shakti Nepal, in his bio shared the same image, citing “Photo by Nepal Foolish” as the source. The post claimed that the meeting between former King Shah and Prime Minister Modi had raised the self-respect of the Nepali people.
As of this writing, the post has received more than 8,000 reactions, 651 comments, and 321 shares. See original post, archive post, and screenshot.
A TikTok user named Anjan Khadka also uploaded a video claiming, “The meeting between former King Gyanendra Shah and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has scared the major political parties of Nepal.” See original post, archive post, and screenshot.
Another Facebook user, Ranjan Kumar Singh, claimed that Prime Minister Modi and former King Shah met on Sunday. The photo shared by Singh appears to have been flipped. In his post, Modi is seen on the left and former King Shah on the right. In other viral images, Modi appears on the right and the former king on the left. The copyright text in Singh’s image is also upside down.
As of this writing, the post has received around 4,300 reactions, 380 comments, and 176 shares. See original post, archive post, and screenshot.
To verify the authenticity of the photo, the TechPana Fact Check Desk first examined whether it was generated using artificial intelligence. Image detection tools showed that the photo was not AI-generated.
The secretariat of former King Gyanendra Shah was then contacted. Phaniraj Pathak, head of the former king’s dialogue secretariat, told TechPana Fact Check that he had no information about any meeting with Indian Prime Minister Modi. He confirmed that although the former king was visiting Siliguri, India, he was unaware of the viral photo.
“Yes, he is currently on a visit to India. Apart from that, the secretariat does not have any other information,” Pathak said.
No international or national media outlets in Nepal or India reported any such meeting. No official diplomatic channels made the information public either.
Google Lens and other reverse image search tools did not initially reveal the origin of the photo. The TechPana Fact Check Desk then analyzed the attire worn by the former king in the viral image. The former king, who often visits restaurants and nightclubs in informal attire, was found wearing the same clothes in photos posted on the Facebook page of Majaz Restaurant and Shisha Lounge in Thamel on October 9, 2023.
In those photos, the former king is seen wearing the same dress, waistcoat, hat, and maintaining the same posture as in the viral image. The restaurant stated that the photos were taken by photographers Srijan Shrestha, Santee Man, and Sijal. See original post, archive post, and screenshot.
A close comparison shows that the posture, hand position, waistcoat stitching, open buttons, and hat are identical in both images.
However, in the viral photo, the original restaurant background was removed.
The background was edited to resemble the Indian Prime Minister’s office, and the Indian flag was added.
Modi’s image was digitally inserted in place of a woman originally standing beside the former king.
Claim
Former King Gyanendra Shah and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in India on December 21, 2025.
Claimants
Facebook users Hridayendra Shah Supporter, Nepal Foolish, Ranjan Kumar Singh, TikTok user Anjan Khadka, and others.
Fact
The viral photo claiming to show a meeting between former King Gyanendra Shah and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is edited. Image analysis shows that the photo was not created by AI but manually manipulated using photo-editing tools. The original image was taken at Majaz Restaurant and Shisha Lounge in Thamel in 2023. Modi’s image was digitally added, and the background was altered to resemble an official setting.
Conclusion
The viral photo claiming that former King Gyanendra Shah met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is misleading. The TechPana Fact Check Desk confirms that a two-year-old restaurant photo was edited and falsely circulated as evidence of a high-level political meeting.
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पछिल्लो अध्यावधिक: पुस ८, २०८२ १७:२२
