Recently, Indian cricketer Virat Kohli and Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma announced the birth of their son Akaay Kohli. The happy parents shared the news through social media along with his name. But as soon as they shared the news, several pictures of different babies began circulating the name of the celebrity couple's baby. India TV Fact Check team came across a similar post where Virat and Anushka are seen holding a newborn baby. On invesigation, the team found these pictures to be fake.
What is going viral?
The picture was shared on Facebook by an account named Cricket Inside with the caption, " Ever since Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma became parents, people have been waiting to see a glimpse of their little one. Let us tell you that Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma had the pleasure of becoming parents for the second time on February 15. Currently, both couples are present in London. Virat and Anushka had informed through social media that both of them had the pleasure of becoming parents. It is hoped that both of them can come back to India in the month of March and then they will also show a glimpse of their beloved." The post was shared on February 27, 2024.
The photo shared in this viral post is a collage of 5 photos where a small child is seen in the arms of Virat and Anushka. In some photos, Virat and Anushka are seen sitting during puja rituals, while in others Anushka is seen with a newborn baby on a hospital bed.
India TV Fact Check
When our team found these pictures, they began by reverse-searching the images one by one on Google. On reverse searching the first picture on Google, they came across another Facebook post which was shared by the official account of Filmfare on October 28, 2019. This post also has the same picture of Virat and Anushka which is in the viral post. Interestingly, in this picture, there is no baby seen in the couple's arms, rather both of them are seen worshipping during a Diwali puja. It became clear that the photo had been created by editing.
When our team reverse-searched the second picture, we found the same picture on Pinterest. The only difference is that the woman shown in the picture is anonymous. It became clear that the second photo of the viral picture was also fake and this time Anushka Sharma's photo had been edited.
The same process was used on the third picture as well whih redirected us to an article published on a website named Today's Parent. The third picture was used in the article published on 12 November 2015. It is clear that the image was shared wrongly and turned out to be 9 years old.
What were the results of the investigation?
When we fact-checked the viral pictures of Virat-Anushka with their son, two photos were found to be edited and one was a 9-year-old stock photo. That means all the photos are fake.
ALSO READ | FACT CHECK: Fake video of Mukesh Ambani endorsing stock market forum circulates | Here's the truth
ALSO READ | FACT CHECK: Old photo of MS Dhoni at Gurudwara falsely linked to farmers' protest | Here's the truth
