A selfie of Bollywood actor Sunny Deol is extensively circulating online, claiming to show former Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni in the background, seemingly standing in a farm field.
The above post can be seen here (archive). More such posts can be seen here, here and here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the image, and found that it to be digitally altered.
A Reverse Image Search of the viral picture reveals a similar visual posted on the official X handle of Chennai Super Kings. In the original image, it is cricketer Ravindra Jadeja taking the selfie with MS Dhoni visible in the background, not Sunny Deol.
Imagine Thala & Thalapathy in this field together! 😉💛🤳#WhistlePodu #WhatIf@imjadeja @msdhoni pic.twitter.com/cjQMyu52Sk
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) August 27, 2024
However, the image shared by Chennai Super Kings was also edited. Upon further investigation, we found the original photo on Ravindra Jadeja’s official Instagram handle. Posted on August 25, 2024, the original image shows only Jadeja taking a selfie on his farm, with no one else in the background.
After cropping the image and conducting another Reverse Image Search, the NM team found the original photo of MS Dhoni on a farm in an India Today report in March 2022.
Closely analysing the images, it is clear that the viral photo was manipulated using the photo-editing software, combining elements from different sources.
Thus, we can conclusively say that the viral image featuring Sunny Deol and MS Dhoni is digitally altered.
