Viral Image a CSK Fan Abusing Aurangzeb is Misleading

Claim

A viral post shows a photo of a fan of an IPL team who is seen in the stadium along with other spectators. The picture shows the fan holding a placard, which mentions some expletive-laden things about Aurangzeb, the 17th-century Mughal ruler. While sharing the image, the users wrote the caption, “CSK has the best fan base for a reason.”

The image shows a cricket stadium filled with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fans wearing yellow jerseys. A man in the crowd is holding a handwritten sign with offensive language directed at the historical figure Aurangzeb and his supporters. His face is covered with a digitally added black Batman-style mask. The image appears to be AI-generated or edited, as indicated by the text at the bottom. The tweet from the verified account "Voice of Hindus" (@Warlock_Shubh) captions the image, praising CSK's fan base. The overall tone of the image and text is provocative and politically charged.

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Furthermore, we found other users who shared the same image with homogeneous claims.

A Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fan in a packed stadium is holding up a handwritten sign with controversial and offensive remarks about Aurangzeb. The man’s face is covered with a digitally added black Batman-style mask. The crowd around him is dressed in yellow, showing support for CSK. The image appears to be AI-generated or edited, as indicated by the watermark at the bottom. The tweet, posted by "Voice of Hindus" (@Warlock_Shubh), praises CSK’s fan base with a fire emoji, adding a charged tone to the post.

Link; Archive Link

Fact Check

Upon investigation, the DFRAC team found the claim to be misleading. The viral image is digitally edited.

The viral image is digitally edited, and the text is carefully inserted using an overlay.

A Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fan is seen in a packed cricket stadium, holding up a handmade sign that reads, "THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE MAHI!!" in bold red letters. The fan, dressed in a CSK yellow jersey with MS Dhoni’s image printed on it, is smiling with excitement. The crowd around him is also in yellow, showing their support for the team. The stadium is brightly lit, indicating a night match atmosphere. The tweet, posted by verified user Rathna Kumar (@MrRathna), expresses gratitude to MS Dhoni for making his adulthood memorable and celebrates the euphoria of the moment with hashtags like #Cskforlife, #CSKvMI, and @msdhoni.

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Furthermore, the reverse image search led us to an X (formerly Twitter) post by Rathna kumar (@MrRathna). He has posted it on 23 March 2025. The caption for the image says, “Thank you Dhoni for making my Adulthood Awesome. Thank you Universe for yet another Euphoria. (sic)” Emojis and hashtags like Cskforlife and CSKvMI are there in the post. The user has tagged Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the caption.

Lastly, this original post shows the placard that says, “The Man, The Myth, The Mahi!!”.

Conclusion

Therefore, the fact check clearly shows that the viral image is misleading. The viral image is digitally edited. The original post was made by Rathna kumar which shows a placard in which appreciation for cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni is mentioned, and not expletives.