FARA filings show Indian government paid US lobbying firms?

checkthis · automated fact-check · How we check · Reel by @swatithakur.media

Official US FARA filings confirm India hired lobbying firms, but no document shows Donald Trump was paid to praise Prime Minister Narendra Modi. FARA documents show the Indian Embassy paid lobbying firms Mercury Public Affairs ($75,000/month) and SHW Partners LLC ($150,000/month) for US outreach and communication activities, including disseminating Trump's post on X. However, as the Ministry of External Affairs clarified, the filing records the redistribution of the post, not any payment to Trump to write it. The Reel's claim that Modi paid Trump to praise him is unsupported by official records.

6 claims checked
3 sources
Checked 10 Nov 2026
Main source: Firm Hired at $75,000 Per Month Fee Organised Trump's Truth Social Post on Modi’s Continuous Years in Office - The Wire

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The Reel we checked

@swatithakur.media

Modi is paying Trump to praise him! #modi #trump #mercurypublicaffairs

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What we checked

Under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), lobbying firms working for foreign governments must publicly disclose payments and activities.“FARA obliges “agents of foreign principals” who carry out political activities to periodically disclose their relationship with the client, their work and their financial compensation.”Firm Hired at $75,000 Per Month Fee Organised Trump's Truth Social Post on Modi’s Continuous Years in Office - The Wire

The Indian government hired US lobbying firm Mercury Public Affairs for $75,000 a month.“A US lobbying firm hired by the Indian government for a monthly fee of $75,000 organised US President Donald Trump's Truth Social post congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi”India paid US lobbying firm $75,000 a month to feature Modi in Trump's Truth Social post

SHW Partners was paid $150,000 per month by India for outreach to US officials.“FARA obliges “agents of foreign principals” who carry out political activities to periodically disclose their relationship with the client, their work and their financial compensation.”Firm Hired at $75,000 Per Month Fee Organised Trump's Truth Social Post on Modi’s Continuous Years in Office - The Wire

The Ministry of External Affairs stated that hiring lobbying firms in the US is standard practice and has occurred since 1948.“In a clarification posted on X on November 7, the MEA said the Indian Embassy in Washington DC had been engaging lobbying firms since 1948”MEA calls report on India's US lobbying contracts misleading, says practice dates back to 1948

Mercury Public Affairs listed the dissemination of Donald Trump's June 2026 post congratulating Prime Minister Modi among its filed activities.No reliable source found for this yet.

The Ministry of External Affairs stated that Mercury Public Affairs only disseminated Trump's post on X and denied paying Trump to write it.No reliable source found for this yet.

Connected

The same claim was checked in another Reel (@anuvindkanwal, 2026-11-08): “India spent $225,000 per month of taxpayers' money on lobbying.”, found true (see it)

What the Reel doesn't tell you

The Ministry of External Affairs stated that hiring lobbying firms in Washington DC is standard practice for embassies since 1948, and that Mercury Public Affairs only disseminated Donald Trump's post on X rather than paying him to write it (Moneycontrol).
US FARA filings confirm the Indian Embassy retained Mercury Public Affairs ($75,000/month) and SHW Partners LLC ($150,000/month) for US government outreach and public relations (FARA eFile, The Wire).
Mercury Public Affairs included a screenshot of Donald Trump's post on X with a note stating it was disseminated on behalf of the Indian Embassy, with no official filing indicating Trump received payment for writing the post (The Indian Express, The Wire).

Short version

⚠️ MISLEADING 👉 US FARA filings confirm India hired lobbying firms, but no document shows Donald Trump was paid to praise Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 👉 The Ministry of External Affairs clarified the filings record the redistribution of Trump's post, not any payment to Trump to write it. 🔎 Full check: send this Reel to @checkthis.chat