After India’s victory over Australia in the semi-final of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy recently, pictures showing cricketer Virat Kohli in tears went viral on social media, claiming to capture an emotional moment following the match.
The above posts can be seen here and here (archive)
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the pictures in question, and found them to be AI-generated.
A Reverse Image Search yielded no credible sources linking the pictures to any real event. Additionally, neither Virat Kohli nor his wife, Anushka Sharma, have shared or acknowledged the images on their official social media accounts.
Closer inspection of the pictures revealed several tell-tale signs of AI manipulation —unnatural facial expressions, inconsistent lighting, awkward texture blending in the background, and subtle distortions, particularly around Kohli’s face.
Furthermore, an analysis using Hive Moderation, an AI detection tool, confirmed that the image was digitally created.
So in conclusion, we can say that the viral images of Virat Kohli crying after India’s semi-final win is AI-generated.
