--- description: A social media campaign poster touting the BJP’s expansion of transit services features a stock image of Singapore’s metro system. title: As Indians Vote, Modi’s Party Misleads Online image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1243b96f1f5b3e6e/698a570909208f5a4241d2be/Modi.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Misinformation & Disinformation](/tag/misinformation-disinformation/) ## Misinformation & Disinformation Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # As India Votes, Modi’s Party Misleads Online  by [Chad de Guzman](/author/chad-de-guzman/)  ## Chad de Guzman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Reporter May 21, 2024 7:55 AM CUT  A screenshot from a digital poster shared by BJP-affiliated social media accounts. A screenshot from a digital poster shared by BJP-affiliated social media accounts.X  by [Chad de Guzman](/author/chad-de-guzman/)  ## Chad de Guzman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Reporter May 21, 2024 7:55 AM CUT Amid India’s [weekslong election](https://time.com/6966257/election-india-2024-guide-results/ "undefined"), the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants voters to know that it’s about action, not talk. “Congress will say, BJP will do,” a poster shared recently by [state-](https://x.com/BJP4Tripura/status/1790585397246140433 "undefined") and [district-](https://x.com/BJPBarackpore/status/1790032897442804202 "undefined")level BJP accounts on social media asserted, referring to the opposition Indian National Congress (or Congress Party). > [](https://twitter.com/BJP4Bengal/status/1789657483864117529) The campaign poster features an image of Modi in front of an elevated metro-railway and touts the expansion of transit services in India over the last decade as evidence of the BJP’s can-do spirit and results-oriented governance. Except, the background photo isn’t of anything the BJP did. In fact, it’s not a train or railway in India at all. Indian nonpartisan news outlet [Alt News](https://www.altnews.in/hindi/metro-services-in-20-cities-bjps-modi-poster-uses-train-photo-from-singapore/ "undefined") identified the misleading background as a free online stock image of Jurong East station in Singapore. (TIME can confirm that the background is of the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit system, which was apparently digitally manipulated to hide the SMRT logo from the front of the train and its side door.)  Stock photo described as “free HD photo of train, grey, singapore, and wallpaper.” shawnanggg/Unsplash It’s the latest example of the flood of disinformation and misinformation spreading in the country, particularly around political discourse. India’s elections of 2019 were already dogged by concerns of rampant [false information](https://toda.org/assets/files/resources/policy-briefs/t-pb-55%5Fspandana-singh%5Fthe-false-information-ecosystem-in-india.pdf "undefined"), but [experts say](https://eastasiaforum.org/2024/05/17/are-social-media-ai-and-misinformation-undermining-indian-democracy/ "undefined") the problem has only [intensified](https://apnews.com/article/india-election-misinformation-meta-youtube-703a56c73f9341393f05400ea218b87d "undefined")—fueled by the growth of [generative artificial intelligence](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-68918330 "undefined") as well as the [failure](https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/digital-threats/votes-will-not-be-counted-indian-election-disinformation-ads-and-youtube/ "undefined") of tech companies and social media platforms to enforce [safeguards](https://time.com/6967334/ai-elections-disinformation-meta-tiktok/ "undefined"). And though false information has been detected across the political spectrum—from [deepfakes](https://www.boomlive.in/videos/did-ranveer-singh-criticise-pm-modi-over-unemployment-inflation-25112 "undefined") of Bollywood stars endorsing the opposition to [video](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-06/india-battles-fake-news-as-election-heads-to-halfway-mark "undefined") of a single person casting multiple ballots (shared out of context from a training mock exercise) that casts doubt on the integrity of the election—the BJP has been notorious for its [cyber armies](https://time.com/5512032/whatsapp-india-election-2019/ "undefined") and organized social media manipulation efforts. **Read More:** [_All the Elections Around the World in 2024_](https://time.com/6550920/world-elections-2024/ "undefined") An April [report](https://aks3.eko.org/pdf/Slander%5FLies%5Fand%5FIncitement%5FReport.pdf "undefined") found that the BJP uses “shadow advertisers” to spread ads in support of Modi, many of which are propaganda targeting the general opposition and/or hate-based. But while much of the disinformation and misinformation appeals to [an undercurrent of Hindu nationalism](https://www.isdglobal.org/digital%5Fdispatches/hindu-nationalists-push-conspiracy-theories-and-misinformation-ahead-of-elections/ "undefined"), as employment has become [perhaps the most salient](https://time.com/6970064/india-election-modi-unemployment-jobs/ "undefined") election issue this year, the BJP and its supporters have also [inflated](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/bogus-news-meant-to-generate-euphoria-congress-on-claims-of-indias-gdp-crossing-usd-4-trillion/articleshow/105357621.cms?from=mdr "undefined") the party’s economic achievements under Modi’s rule. In the World Economic Forum’s [2024 Global Risks Report](https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF%5FThe%5FGlobal%5FRisks%5FReport%5F2024.pdf "undefined"), India was the [only country](https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-risks-report-2024/in-full/appendix-c-executive-opinion-survey-national-risk-perceptions/ "undefined") where surveyed experts ranked misinformation and disinformation as its greatest threat—even greater than extreme weather, or infectious diseases, or economic downturn. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6980491/india-election-social-media-misinformation-disinformation-modi-bjp-singapore-poster/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6980491/india-election-social-media-misinformation-disinformation-modi-bjp-singapore-poster/"},"headline":"As India Votes, Modi’s Party Misleads Online","datePublished":"2024-05-21T07:55:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:52:22.083Z","description":"A social media campaign poster touting the BJP’s expansion of transit services features a stock image of Singapore’s metro system.","url":"https://time.com/6980491/india-election-social-media-misinformation-disinformation-modi-bjp-singapore-poster/","keywords":["Misinformation & Disinformation","overnight","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1243b96f1f5b3e6e/698a570909208f5a4241d2be/Modi.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chad de Guzman","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1243b96f1f5b3e6e/698a570909208f5a4241d2be/Modi.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Modi","caption":"A poster shared by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) social media accounts shows India Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a train to tout his rule’s supposed achievements in expanding national metro services. 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