#Teleprompter PM trends on Twitter after Teleprompter fails during PM's address to WEF

For several embarrassing seconds last evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to stop addressing the World Economic Forum virtually when his teleprompter apparently stopped functioning.

PM Modi can be seen in the video looking sideways at his team questioningly, then fumble with his earpiece. He then looks downcast before recovering his composure and asking if his voice was still being heard by participants. When he is assured that there was nothing wrong with the audio, the PM asks if his interpreter's voice is clear. The WEF stopped the broadcast for several minutes before announcing the Prime Minister of India, who resumed his address from the beginning.

While BJP and Modi supporters indignantly defended the goof up by claiming that the glitch was at the end of the WEF, others derisively recalled Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's statement that PM Modi cannot speak for two minutes without a teleprompter.

The hashtag #TeleprompterPM trended on Twitter with people questioning the PM's reputation for oratory. The impression that he couldn't continue speaking without the teleprompter even for a few minutes, led to some harsh trolling of the Prime Minister. For once the PM was at the receiving end since it is he who has a reputation for trolling rivals.

However, doubts about a teleprompter gaffe were voiced by several, including Pratik Sinha and Md Zubair of fact checking website AltNews. In the video shared by them technician is heard requesting the PM to ask if everyone is connected.

"It is unlikely that PM had a teleprompter gaffe. If you look at the WEF version of the recording of his speech, someone in the background says, "Sir aap unse ek baar pooche ki sab jud gaye kya". This portion is not clear in the video live-streamed on PM's YouTube channel," tweeted Pratik Sinha

"After this, the PM questions if he and the interpreter can be heard properly, to which Klaus Schwab responds stating that he can. However, Schwab interrupts the PM's speech to give a brief introduction," wrote Sinha
"The PM repeats the whole speech again. The World Economic Forum (WEF) version of the recording can be seen on their YouTube channel. The address starts at 8:37."

"The teleprompter is typically in the front. When the PM is distracted, he looks to the side, where probably the team managing the event from the PMO is sitting. It is likely that someone from the team was trying to get the PM's attention," Sinha wrote

Here are some of the tweets circulating with the hashtag #Teleprompter PM: