The New York Times on Wednesday clarified that the image of a front-page article featuring Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the headline "Last, Best Hope of Earth", which was widely shared on social media, is "completely fabricated".
"Resharing or circulating photoshopped images online only adds to misinformation and uncertainty, at a time when truthful, trusted journalism is needed most," the newspaper said in a tweet.
The morphed picture carried the headline that reads, "World's most loved and most powerful leader is here to bless us". The story also carried a large photograph of the Indian Prime Minister.
In the picture claimed to be the NYT front page, 'September' is spelt incorrectly, and the font style of the headline is different from the one used by The New York Times.
Social media users widely shared the fake image after Modi's visit to the United States. National General Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party Youth Wing, Rohit Chahal, who has more than 70 thousand followers, also shared the image.
Meanwhile, the picture has sparked a meme fest online.