Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Viral video claimed to show Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma on the way to the Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant pre-wedding bash, along with images purported to show Elon Musk enjoying at the gala.
Fact
Virat Kohli-Anushka Sharma video dates back to 2022, Elon Musk images found to be AI generated.
The three-day pre-wedding celebrations of Anant Ambani and wife-to-be Radhika Merchant in Jamnagar, Gujarat, over the weekend, attracted unprecedented attention on social media over its nearly 1,200-strong star-studded guest list.
Social media was flooded with pictures and videos of Bollywood celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Salman Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, and many more, rubbing shoulders with tech billionaires, sports and pop superstars, including Rihanna, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ivanka Trump.
Among the viral media, several users have shared a video, claiming to show Indian cricketer Virat Kohli and his wife, actor-producer Anushka Sharma, on their way to the Jamnagar gala, while a set of viral images claimed to show the owner of X/Twitter, Elon Musk, at the festivities. The archived version of the tweets can be seen here and here.
Fact Check
Viral Virat Kohli-Anushka Sharma Video
Newschecker first ran a keyword search for “Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma, Ambani Wedding”, which did not throw up any photos of the couple at the gala, raising our doubts.
We then ran a reverse image of keyframes of the video, which led us to the Instagram post by NDTV Movies, dated June 8, 2022, stating that Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli were pictured at the Mumbai airport.
A further search led us to the same video shared by photographer Varinder Chawla on Instagram, dated June 8, 2022. An ET report, dated June 8, 2022, featuring the same photo can be seen here, confirming that the viral video of Kohli and Sharma at the airport is not related to the Jamnagar gala.
Result: False
Elon Musk Photos
Newschecker ran a keyword search for “Elon Musk Ambani wedding”, which did not throw up any pictures of Musk taking part in the festivities at Jamnagar.
Also, the lack of detail in the background of the viral images raised our doubts on whether the images were AI-generated.
We then ran the images past Hive Moderator, an AI-generated content detection tool, which stated that the images are 99.9% likely to be AI generated. A similar tool, Is it AI?, stated that the images are highly likely to be AI-generated.
Result: Altered Media
Also Read: Viral Photo Claiming To Show Benjamin Netanyahu In Hospital Due To Covid Is Edited
Conclusion
Viral video and images claimed to show Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma on the way to the Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant pre-wedding bash, along with Elon Musk enjoying at the gala, were found to be old and AI-generated media respectively.
Sources
Instagram video, Varinder Chawla, June 8, 2022
Hive Moderator image detection tool
Is It AI? detector tool
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
