Did The Maldives Display PM Modi’s Image on Its Defence Ministry Building With the Word ‘Surrender’?

Claim

A photograph of PM Narendra Modi displayed on the side of Maldives’ Ministry of Defence building with a caption mocking him, stating, “Surrender”.

The archived version of the post can be seen here.  

PM Modi had attended the Independence Day celebrations of Maldives as the guest of honour on Saturday, marking a reset of bilateral ties between India and the island nation.

Fact

Newschecker ran a keyword search for “Modi MoD building Maldives,” which led us to this Inshorts post, dated July 25, 2025, sharing the same photograph, but without the “surrender” caption. “A picture of PM Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day visit to the Maldives, has been put up on the country ’s Defence Ministry building in Malé. PM Modi arrived in the Maldives on Friday and was received by President Mohamed Muizzu,” read the article.

We found the image posted by Times Now on X on July 25, 2025, reiterating that it showed the Ministry of Defence building in Malé, Maldives, as it looks with the arrival of PM Narendra Modi.

A similar photo of the building was shared by the official X account of the Maldives National Defence Force, dated July 25, 2025, where you can clearly see there is no “surrender” word on the building.

We learnt that PM Narendra Modi and the President of Maldives, H. E. Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, on July 25, 2025 jointly inaugurated the state-of-the-art Ministry of Defence (MoD) building of Maldives in Male, which has been constructed with India’s financial assistance and will contribute towards enhancing the capabilities of the defence and law enforcement authorities of Maldives.

Newschecker ran the original (right) and viral images (left) past Fake Image Detector, which said the latter “looks like a Computer Generated or Modified image,” further confirming that it was edited.

Also Read: Old, Unrelated Visuals Falsely Linked To Russian Plane Crash

Sources
Times Now post, X, July 25, 2025
Maldives National Defence Force  post, X, July 25, 2025
Fake Image Detector