By Hazel Gandhi
On January 7, 2024, Maldives suspended three of its deputy ministers for their derogatory comments under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's photos that showed him promoting the Indian island of Lakshadweep. The ministers, Maryam Shiuna, Malsha Shareef and Mahzoom Majid, called the PM a "clown", "terrorist" and "puppet of Israel", leading to severe backlash from India. Hashtags such as #BoycottMaldives and #ExploreIndianIslands began trending on X, with celebrities including Akshay Kumar, Sachin Tendulkar, and Salman Khan participating.
The government of Maldives later responded to the backlash in a press release and said, "The Government of Maldives is aware of derogatory remarks on social media platforms against foreign leaders and high-ranking individuals. These opinions are personal and do not represent the views of the Government of Maldives."
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu was elected to power last year, following the success of his 'India Out' campaign that demanded the removal of Indian troops in the country. In December last year, Muizzu announced that India had agreed to fulfil this request and that Indian soldiers would leave the island. He is also known to favour China-- his office in a recent statement called China Maldives' "closest allies and developmental partners."
Strained diplomatic ties between India and Maldives has led to several Indian right-wing users to peddle misinformation online targeting the latter in addition to pledging to boycott the archipelago as a tourist destination. At the time of writing this article, BOOM has debunked seven such instances of misinformation being shared in the backdrop of this row.
1. Fake Screenshot Of Maldivian President Apologising To Indians Viral
A screenshot purporting to show Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu apologising to Indians with "folded hands" in a post on X was shared by right-wing user Rishi Bagree and circulated by other users online.
Bagree's caption read, "Maldives Pres tenders an unconditional Apology with a Folded Hand".
BOOM found that the screenshot was digitally altered and Muizzu made no such apology on X. The last post made from Muizzu's verified X account was on January 5, 2024, before the row with India began. We also looked at archives of Muizzu's X account on the Wayback Machine and his posting activity on Social Blade to check if he had deleted any posts, but did not find any results. Further, we were unable to find any replies made to a deleted post by Muizzu on X, which confirmed that the did not make any post after January 5.
BOOM has debunked several other false claims shared by Bagree. Read here.
2. Ranveer Singh, Kiren Rijiju Share Photos From Maldives And French Polynesia As Lakshadweep
Actor Ranveer Singh and Kiren Rijiju, Minister of Earth Sciences from Arunachal Pradesh, shared posts promoting tourism in Lakshadweep while using images from other parts of the world, including Maldives. They used the hashtag #ExploreIndianIslands while encouraging people to travel to Lakshadweep.
BOOM found that both Singh and Rijiju had shared photos from places other than Lakshadweep to promote the island. A reverse image search on Google showed that the image shared by Ranveer Singh was from Maldives itself-- stock images website Shutterstock had also carried the photo. Ranveer Singh later deleted his post and reshared the text without the photo on X. We also found that the first photo by Rijiju was from Maldives too, and the second photo he shared was from Bora Bora, French Polynesia.
BOOM has fact-checked several false claims made by Kiren Rijiju in the past. Read here.
3. Video From 2010 Shared As Couple Mocked By Maldivian Resort Staff
A video showing a Swiss couple renewing their wedding vows being mocked by Maldivian resort staff was shared on social media as recent. A caption on X read, "The actual reality of Maldives. Stay away from this Islamic nation."
BOOM found that the video dates back to November 2010 and is unrelated to the recent India-Maldives row. The incident was widely reported at the time and carried descriptions of the resort staff calling the couple "swine" and "infidels" while renewing their wedding vows. The Guardian reported that the Maldivian foreign ministry had issued an apology for the incident as well.
4. Video Falsely Claims Hrithik Roshan Cancelled His Maldives Trip
An old video of actor Hrithik Roshan speaking about cancelling a tour to Malaysia was shared with misleading captions on social media to claim that he cancelled his visit to the Maldives amid its row with India. A post on X read, "Thanks and appreciate @iHrithik ji for such a fantastic decision 👏 this is literally mine a lot for our country. may lord jagannath bless you a lot. Jay jagannath 🙏 #maldivesboycott"
BOOM found that the video showed Roshan cancelling a December 2023 visit to Malaysia, not Maldives, as part of his 'Stars on Fire Kuala Lumpur' tour. Several news articles from Malaysia had also reported about Roshan's tour's cancellation along with an official post from the producers of the tour, Heart Art Productions. We also found that at the time of writing this article, Roshan has made no comments about the India-Maldives row.
5. Anti-India Protest In Maldives From June 2023 Shared As Recent
A video showing some people in the Maldives wearing masks of PM Modi during an anti-India demonstration was shared as a recent video. A caption on Facebook read, "A huge protest in Maldives against Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. After week ago Maldives prime minister's controversial statement. #maldives #india #narendramodi #tourism #boycottmaldives #lakshdweep"
BOOM found that the video is from June 2023 and is unrelated to the ongoing India-Maldives row. A keyword search on Google led us to reports that detailed a protest organised by the opposition in Maldives called 'India Out' on June 29, 2023. A video report by Hindustan Times also stated that the Maldivian government had criticised the protests, calling them a "dishonourable act and attempt to provoke hatred."
6. Virender Sehwag Shares Photo From Thailand, French Polynesia As India
Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag shared four photos on his X account while promoting Indian beaches, out of which two were from French Polynesia and Thailand.
Actor Amitabh Bachchan quoted Sehwag's post and called it "relevant and in the right spirit of our land."
However, BOOM found that the third and fourth photos in the post were from French Polynesia and Thailand respectively. The photo from French Polynesia was shared on the website of Getty images, whereas the Thailand one was shared on Pixels, clearly mentioning the locations.
7. Photo Of Sex Doll On Thai Beach Shared As Corpse Of Woman Found In Maldives
An old photo of a discarded sex doll on a beach in Thailand was shared online with the false claim that it shows the naked corpse of a woman on a Maldivian beach after she was gang raped and murdered there.
A caption on X reads, "A girl who went on a trip to the Maldives was found dead naked near the seashore. She was gang-raped and tortured before being killed!"
BOOM found that the claims are false-- the photo dates back to August 2022 and was taken on a beach in Thailand. Several reports from the time mentioned that the police found an adult doll called the AV sex doll on a Thailand beach and not the corpse of a real woman.
8. Indonesia Video Shared As Taxi Driver Harassing Woman In Maldives
The video of a taxi driver threatening tourists while demanding money is being shared online with the false claim that the clip is from Maldives. A caption on X reads, "#Maldives is too unsafe for women for obvious reasons. Many girls have reported rape, molestation, extortion etc in #Maldives. Girls should avoid going there."
BOOM found that the incident took place in Indonesia, not Maldives, and the taxi driver was later arrested for extortion by the police. A report by the Indonesian National Police explained that the taxi driver and passengers began arguing over the cab fare, after which the driver threatened the passengers.
