Unrelated Pictures Shared as CSK Fans on Ahmedabad Streets Ahead of IPL Final

We found that none of these were taken in India or were related to the finals of the Indian Premier League.

Fact-Check | All these pictures are not from India and are unrelated to the final match of IPL 2023.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A set of three images that show a huge crowd wearing yellow t-shirts gathered on the street is being shared as visuals of Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) fans.

What are users claiming?: Several users have claimed that the fans were gathered ahead of CSK's clash against Gujarat Titans (GT) in the finals of 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL). The match was scheduled to be held in Ahmedabad.

An archive of the post can be seen here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(More archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.)

Are these claims true?: No, none of the pictures were taken in India.

• The first image is old and was captured during the Great Ethiopian Run.

• The second one shows the celebration of Thailand King's birthday in 2012.

• The third image is from Gran Canaria, which is an island in Spain.

Image 1

On performing a reverse image search, we came across a similar picture uploaded on the Cable News Network's (CNN) website.

• The article talked about how Ethiopia has become one of the top spots for tourist visits in Africa.

• The picture's caption mentioned that it showed the annual Great Ethiopian Run in Addis Ababa.

The article was updated on 4 August 2017.

(Source: CNN/Screenshot)

• Taking this as a hint, we performed a keyword search which led us to United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Achievement Funds website.

• The website carried a similar image. It further mentioned that the Great Ethiopian Run was kicked off under the slogan "we can end poverty by 2015."

• A comparison showed that both images are from the same incident.

A comparison clearly highlights the similarities.

(Source: MDG website/Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)

• We also noticed a hoarding that said "Abyssinia Springs". We looked it up and found that there is a bottled water company with the same name based in Ethiopia.

Image 2

We performed a Google Lens search on the second image which led us to the British daily, The Telegraph's website.

• The article's headline said, "Thailand's King Bhumibol, the world's longest-reigning monarch, turns 85."

• It carried several pictures from the celebration of the King's birthday in the country's capital, Bangkok.

• The viral image could also be found in the article.

The article was published in December 2012.

(Source: The Telegraph/Screenshot)

• We found some similarities when we compared the viral image to the one uploaded on The Telegraph.

Both pictures have a similar setting.

(Source:  The Telegraph/Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)

• A similar visual could be seen in a video uploaded on Al Jazeera's website on 5 December 2012.

Image 3

A Google Lens search led us to the same image uploaded on the Spanish sports newspaper Marca.

• The article mentioned that fans gathered in Gran Canaria during a match between Granada and Las Palmas in La Liga2 football league.

• It should be noted that the football team Las Palmas also sport yellow jerseys.

The article was updated on 27 May.

(Source: Marca/Screenshot)

• A comparison clearly highlights the similarities and proves that both of them are from the same location.

The comparison between both the images showed several similarities.

(Source: Marca/Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)

• Another Spanish news agency called EFE News uploaded the same picture on their Twitter account.

CSK vs GT in IPL final: Both teams clashed during the finals of IPL, which was held on 29 May in Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium after facing a delay due to rain. The match saw a thrilling last-ball finish from CSK all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who won the fifth title for his team CSK.

Conclusion: It is clear that unrelated images are going viral on social media platforms with a false claim stating that they show CSK fans gathered on the streets in Ahmedabad.

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