Narayana Murthy in the Spotlight Over a Viral Image: Real or Fake?

This story was originally published by Logically Facts, and republished by The Probe as part of the Shakti Collective.

Narayana Murthy at the Center of Viral Screenshot Debate

An image purportedly showing a screenshot of an article published by the Indian news website Hindustan Times (HT) has gone viral on social media, claiming that Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy has advocated for "limited interaction between young girls and boys for success" and discusses his alleged comments on the GenZ population. 

What Is The Claim?

The viral image shows the headline: “Narayana Murthy advocates limited interaction between young girls and boys for success.” The text below the headline, against a blue background, reads, “Narayana Murthy emphasised that GenZ is shooting itself in its foot by getting into relationships, situationships, dating and other drama. They must instead focus on hustling and building the nation (sic).” The article is attributed to the "HT News Desk." 

An X user shared the viral screenshot with a sarcastic comment: “What an amazing piece of advice. Hope girls and boys don't talk to one another till the age of 60 (sic).” Archived versions of similar posts shared on X can be viewed here, here, here, and here. The screenshot is also widely circulating on Facebook with similar claims; archived links to those can be found here, here, here, and here.

Many social media users also linked this screenshot to Murthy’s earlier remark from October 2023, in which he said that youngsters in India should work 70 hours a week to contribute to the nation’s progress. Murthy’s remark triggered a big debate on social media and even in the Parliament over work-life balance in India.

However, we found that the viral screenshot is digitally altered, and the Hindustan Times did not publish such an article.

What Did We Find? 

We searched the Hindustan Times website and its social media accounts (archived here and here) but found no record of such an article being published. 

A review of the HT website revealed that the image of Narayana Murthy in the viral screenshot was originally used in the latest report published on December 16, 2024, with the headline, "Narayana Murthy defends 70-hour workweek idea: 'Indians have a lot to do.''' The byline, "By HT News Desk," also appears in this report. However, the report's content differs from what is presented in the viral image.

While the font style and size in the viral screenshot match those of HT's authentic reports, we noted that the date and time of publication are absent from the viral screenshot. We noticed a slight difference in the font of the blue box in the viral image compared to an original article published by HT.

Logically Facts contacted the Infosys communications team and was directed to an X post shared by the Hindustan Times, which contained an official statement calling the purported screenshot fake.

After the screenshot went viral, Hindustan Times issued an official statement on January 7, 2025, on its official X and Facebook accounts (archived here and here), saying, “A screenshot of a purported HT story claiming 'Narayana Murthy advocates limited interaction between young girls and boys for success' is circulating online. We confirm that the screenshot is photoshopped and the story is fake.” The news outlet added that legal action is being considered over the fabricated image.

The Verdict

A screenshot of a fake article attributed to Hindustan Times is circulating online, falsely claiming that Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy advocated for "limited interaction between young girls and boys for success."

This Fact Check story was originally published by Logically Facts, as part of the Shakti Collective. Except for the headline/excerpt/opening introduction para this story has not been edited by The Probe staff.