Viral Image of Indira Gandhi Asking People to Refrain From Buying Gold is FAKE: Media ReportsConfirms

May 12, 2026: Fact check reports by The Quint have confirmed that the image of a 1967 edition of The Hindu showing the then PM Indira Gandhi asking people to refrain from buying gold due to foreign echange crisis, is actually a FAKE.

The Quint bases its confirmation on a tweet by The Hindu dated May 12, 2026 confirming that the said page is not from The Hindu archives.

"A digitally altered image purporting to be a front page of The Hindu from June 6, 1967, is currently circulating on social media. We wish to clarify that this is not an authentic page from our archives. The Hindu urges readers to exercise caution and verify before sharing." - Tweet by The Hindu on May 12, 2026

The fact check by The Quint has been attributed to its team member Abhilash Mallick who dug out the details. See the Original Tweet by The Hindu.

📢 A digitally altered image purporting to be a front page of The Hindu from June 6, 1967, is currently circulating on social media. We wish to clarify that this is not an authentic page from our archives. The Hindu urges readers to exercise caution and verify before sharing.

— The Hindu (@the_hindu) May 12, 2026

This image is being used across social media to counter any adverse opinion on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's similar appeal earlier this week. Interestingly and astonishingly, this image has also been used by popular news outlets viz. Times Now and also by senior leaders of the BJP, including Karnataka spokesperson VIjay Prakash, BJP MP Dr Nishikan Dubey (who is also the Chairperson of the standing committee of Communiations and Information Technology.

The Hindu has confirmed that it is a digitally altered image.  Another journalise of The Hindu, B Kolappan shared the fake image versus the original front page on his Twitter account. See the Original Tweet by B Kolappan

The first one is a digitally altered page being wrongly presented as the front page of The Hindu on June 6, 1967. The second is the actual page released that day. This is what social media is capable of; it can even alter the front page of India's national English daily. pic.twitter.com/GZ4CHtu90s

— B. Kolappan (@kolappan) May 12, 2026

Further, media reports say that the fake image was circulated by an X user Rishi Kalia. The image shows The Hindu's front page template, with the tagline "Indian National Newspaper". However, the tagline for The Hindu since 1878 has been "India's National Newspaper".

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