Following Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) maiden IPL title victory in 2026, a picture purportedly showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi posing alongside star batter Virat Kohli, Tamil actor-politician and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay, actor Anushka Sharma, and India women’s cricket team vice-captain Smriti Mandhana has gone viral on social media.
Many users are sharing the image as a genuine photograph captured during a celebratory meeting following RCB’s championship triumph.
The above post can be seen here (archive)
NM VERIFIED
NewsMobile investigated the viral image and found the claim to be false. The picture is AI-generated and digitally fabricated.
A Reverse Image Search of the viral photograph, along with relevant keyword searches, yielded no credible news reports, authentic photographs, or official social media posts supporting the claim. Additionally, none of the individuals purportedly featured in the image, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Virat Kohli, Vijay, Anushka Sharma, or Smriti Mandhana, has shared the photograph on their verified social media accounts. No reputable media organisation has reported such a meeting or public appearance.
A closer examination of the image revealed several telltale signs of AI-generated content, including inconsistencies in facial features, distorted hand structures, irregular body proportions, unnatural lighting, and an overly smooth, artificial-looking background.
To further verify its authenticity, NewsMobile analysed the image using AI-detection tools, including Hive Moderation and Sightengine. Both platforms flagged the photograph as AI-generated with a high probability score, confirming that the viral image is not genuine.
In conclusion, the image showing PM Modi posing with Virat Kohli, Vijay, Anushka Sharma, and Smriti Mandhana following RCB’s IPL 2026 title victory has been generated using artificial intelligence and does not depict a real event.
