Modi and Putin share car ride in Delhi
The leaders met ahead of the BRICS summit and shared a ride for the fourth time.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

From 'Su-57, Oil & $100 BN Trade', What Modi & Putin Discussed Ahead of BRICS 2026?
Photograph: Times of India (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin shared a car ride in Delhi.
- This was their fourth time travelling together in a vehicle.
- The leaders met at Bharat Mandapam ahead of the BRICS summit.
- PM Modi presented Putin with a Russian translation of the Thirukkural.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 7 of the 13 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
57/100
Hype
41/100
13 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin shared a car ride in Delhi on Friday. The two leaders met at Bharat Mandapam ahead of the BRICS summit. This was their fourth occasion travelling together in a vehicle. They previously shared rides in Bishkek and Tianjin. During their meeting, PM Modi presented Putin with a Russian translation of the Thirukkural, an ancient Tamil classic.
Previous shared car journeys
The Times of India reported that the Delhi car ride was their fourth time travelling together. They most recently shared a ride in Bishkek after the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit. Before that, they travelled together in Tianjin last year. The Hindu Business Line noted that the car was Putin's armoured Aurus Senat, customised to withstand attacks.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated reports covered this story. The centre-rated report did not mention the specific details about the car being an armoured Aurus Senat, which was noted by several right-rated outlets.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 11 Sept 2026, 19:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
1 rated outlet
- The Hindustan Times report focused on the shared car ride between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The report stated this was their fourth time sharing a ride and mentioned their meeting ahead of the INNOPROM visit. It also noted they previously travelled together in Bishkek.
Right
5 rated outlets
- Reports from the right-rated outlets highlighted the 'car diplomacy' between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Times of India stated this was their fourth shared ride, occurring in Delhi after their meeting at Bharat Mandapam ahead of the BRICS summit. It detailed previous shared rides in Bishkek and Tianjin, noting Putin's Aurus limousine was used on one occasion. The Hindu Business Line also mentioned the use of Putin's armoured Aurus Senat. Gulf News framed the event as 'car diplomacy' and noted four shared rides in a year. ABP News and Moneycontrol also reported on the shared car ride, with Moneycontrol mentioning the armoured Aurus Senat.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Modi and Putin share car ride in Delhi?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 17% are rated centre, 83% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 13. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Modi and Putin share car ride in Delhi left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Modi and Putin share car ride in Delhi biased?
- Modi and Putin share car ride in Delhi is one event reported by 13 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Modi and Putin share car ride in Delhi?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Modi and Putin share car ride in Delhi?
- 13 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- How many times have Modi and Putin shared a car ride?
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have shared a car ride four times. Their most recent joint journey was in Delhi ahead of the BRICS summit. Previous instances occurred in Bishkek and Tianjin.
- What did PM Modi give to President Putin?
- During their meeting in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented Russian President Vladimir Putin with a Russian translation of the Thirukkural. This ancient Tamil classic was authored by the poet-philosopher Thiruvalluvar.
- Where did Modi and Putin meet before sharing a car ride?
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin met at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi. This meeting took place immediately before they shared a car ride together, ahead of the BRICS summit.
Read it at the source
13 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
1Right
5- Car diplomacy: PM Modi shares a ride on Putin’s armoured car (opens The Hindu Business Line in a new tab)
The Hindu Business Line — is The Hindu Business Line biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Modi-Putin ‘car diplomacy’: Four shared rides in a year (opens Gulf News in a new tab)
- Car Diplomacy: PM Modi And Putin Ride Together Again In Delhi, Weeks After Bishkek (opens ABP News in a new tab)
- Car diplomacy returns at BRICS: PM Modi, Putin ride in armoured Aurus Senat after talks (opens Moneycontrol in a new tab)
Moneycontrol — is Moneycontrol biased? Our profile of this outlet
- PM Modi, Putin share car ride again in Delhi, weeks after traveling together in Bishkek (opens Times of India in a new tab)
Times of India — is Times of India biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
7- Putin in New Delhi, the Second Meeting with Modi in Just Two Weeks (opens portalanalitika.me in a new tab)
portalanalitika.me — is portalanalitika.me biased? Our profile of this outlet
- After Tianjin and Bishkek, New Delhi witnesses ‘car diplomacy’ between PM Modi and Putin (opens India News Australia in a new tab)
India News Australia — is India News Australia biased? Our profile of this outlet
- After Tianjin And Bishkek, New Delhi Witnesses 'Car Diplomacy' Between PM Modi And Putin (opens Ommcom News in a new tab)
Ommcom News — is Ommcom News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- After Tianjin and Bishkek, New Delhi witnesses 'car diplomacy' between PM Modi and Putin (opens The Hans India in a new tab)
The Hans India — is The Hans India biased? Our profile of this outlet
- After Tianjin and Bishkek, New Delhi witnesses 'car diplomacy' between PM Modi and Putin (opens bhaskarlive.in in a new tab)
bhaskarlive.in — is bhaskarlive.in biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Car Diplomacy on Display Again: PM Modi Shares Car with Putin, Breaks Protocol, and Leaves Together (opens Amar Ujala in a new tab)
Amar Ujala — is Amar Ujala biased? Our profile of this outlet
- After Tianjin and Bishkek, New Delhi witnesses ‘car diplomacy’ between PM Modi and Putin (opens Social News XYZ in a new tab)
Social News XYZ — is Social News XYZ biased? Our profile of this outlet
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
