Indians ship Modi-Meloni make-believe romance as G7 video goes viral

“Hello from the ‘Melodi’ team”, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a video posted to social media on Saturday, waving next to her fellow right-wing leader Modi, beaming a wide grin.

He wrote he had meetings with Meloni to bolster ties “in areas like commerce, energy, defence, telecoms and more”.

But in India, it was the short Modi-Meloni video that grabbed attention on Sunday – fuelling a flurry of memes and videos on social media dedicated to the fictional relationship between the two leaders.

In that make-believe world, the leaders have become central characters of an internet love story that has betrayals and heartaches as well as happy moments.

AI-generated videos watched by millions show Modi crooning a love song every time Meloni appears with a political leader other than him.

But newspapers were also deeply critical and swift to cool temperatures down.

“Like other women in high offices, Meloni is being seen through a male prism – hot or not?” the Times of India’s editorial read.

“No matter how influential she is, no matter what she knows or becomes, a woman can always be subjected to such demeaning framing,” it added.

“As the Meloni discourse shows, old-fashioned misogyny dies hard.”