Over the past month as the cricketing action took center stage with India hosting the Men's ICC One Day International (ODI) World Cup 2023, so did fake news around it with several pieces of misinformation going viral on social media.
BOOM has debunked 12 such claims around the tournament that included fake quotes being attributed to former cricketing legends targeting the BCCI on the way the tournament was organised, fake Instagram story screenshots of Indian cricket players like Virat Kohli claiming he posted in solidarity with Gaza, and videos shared with false claims targetting the Pakistan team.
1. Video Of 'Pakistan Murdabad' Chants To Greet Cricketers In Hyderabad Is Fake
A video showing the crowd chanting 'Pakistan Murdabad' slogans against Pakistani cricket players arriving at the Hyderabad airport, was doctored. On September 27, 2023, the Pakistani cricket team had arrived at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad ahead of the ICC men's ODI World Cup after which the edited had gone viral on social media.
BOOM had found that the original video does not have any anti-Pakistan slogans being raised. In original video, we can hear the crowd shouting "Babar bhai, Babar bhai", calling out to Pakistani captain Babar Azam. No anti-Pakistan slogans can be heard in the original video.
2. Fake Quote Slamming BCCI For Empty Stands Falsely Attributed To Gavaskar
A fake quote was attributed to Sunil Gavaskar falsely claiming that the legendary Indian batsman criticised the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for mismanaging the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in India.
The fake quote was viral after the opening game between England and New Zealand in Ahmedabad on October 5, 2023 recorded poor footfall. Visuals of thousands of empty seats were seen at the Narendra Modi stadium which has a capacity of around 1,32,000, during the game.
BOOM found that the quote is fake and Sunil Gavaskar has made no such remark criticising the BCCI for mismanaging the ongoing ICC ODI World Cup.
3. Viral Video Falsely Claims Pakistan Players Welcomed In India With Saffron Scarves
A video of Pakistan's men's cricket team captain Babar Azam wearing a saffron scarf was online with the false claim that the entire team was welcomed to India for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup with saffron scarves.
BOOM found that an extended version of the welcome video shows the players being draped with scarves of all colours, not just saffron.
4. LuLu Mall Kerala Did Not Display Pakistan Flag Higher Than The Indian Flag
Social media posts falsely claimed that the LuLu Mall in Kerala displayed the Pakistan flag above the flags of other countries including India as part of its display for the ICC men's ODI cricket World Cup 2023.
BOOM found that the national flags of all participating countries in the world cup were placed at the same height at LuLu Mall in Kochi.
We reached out to a LuLu mall representative from Kochi who sent us an official statement denying the viral claim along with several photos of the display that were taken on October 10, 2023.
5. No, Mohammed Siraj Did Not Dedicate India's Victory Over Pakistan To Israel
A post by a parody handle, impersonating Indian cricketer Mohammed Siraj on X (formerly Twitter), was circulating with false claims that the cricketer dedicated India's victory over Pakistan in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 to Israel.
BOOM found that Mohammed Siraj had not posted any such post dedicating India's victory over Pakistan to the people of Israel. The tweet was posted by a parody account impersonating Siraj.
6. Video Of Australian Fan Chanting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jay' Peddled With False Claim
Right-leaning outlet Sudarshan News had posted an old video falsely claiming that it showed an Australian player chanting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jay' during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India.
BOOM had debunked the same video back in 2021 when it was viral with a false claim and found that the video is from January 2021 showing an Australian was chanting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' after the Indian cricket team defeated Australia.
7. Instagram Screenshot Of Kohli Posting "In Solidarity With Gaza" Is Fake
A fake screenshot of an Instagram story by Indian cricketer Virat Kohli posting in solidarity with the people of Gaza and dedicating his 49th One Day International (ODI) hundred to those affected by the conflict was being shared on social media.BOOM found that Kohli had not posted any such story on his official Instagram handle.
8. This Photo Of Sara Tendulkar With Shubman Gill Is Morphed
A morphed photo of Sachin Tendulkar's daughter, Sara Tendulkar and cricketer Shubman Gill was viral online with the false claim that they recently made their relationship official.
BOOM found that the photo has been digitally altered using Photoshop and the original image shows Sara posing with her brother, Arjun Tendulkar.
9. Photo Of Glenn Maxwell Touching Sachin Tendulkar's Feet Is Fabricated
An edited image showing Australian cricketer Glenn Maxwell touching former Indian cricket player Sachin Tendulkar's feet was viral with the false claim that it is a real photo of Maxwell paying his respects to Tendulkar during Australia's match against Afghanistan on November 7, 2023.
BOOM found that in the original photo Tendulkar was shaking hands with a member of the Afghan cricket team, during his interaction with the Afghan team ahead of the match against Australia.
10. How News Outlets Made Up A Story On Dua Lipa Performing At World Cup Finals
Last week, social media was rife with viral posts and news reports on British pop sensation Dua Lipa performing at the closing ceremony of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at Ahmadabad on November 19, 2023.
Soon enough, Lipa's fans in India dishearteningly found out that the reports were, after all, untrue. Her name did not feature in the list of performers for the closing ceremony that was released by the Board of Control for Cricket in India on Saturday.
11. No, Ricky Ponting Did Not Call BCCI A 'Cricket Mafia'; Fake Quote Viral
A fake quote was being attributed to Ricky Ponting falsely claiming that the former Australian captain criticised the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) calling it a "cricket mafia" after Australia's victory against India in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.
BOOM found that the quote is fake and that the former Australian cricket captain made no such statement where he referred to the BCCI as a "cricket mafia".
12. Doctored Video Peddled To Claim Hanuman Chalisa Recited At World Cup
A doctored video from an ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 game overlaid with an audio of the crowd chanting verses from the Hanuman Chalisa is circulating with false claims that the Hindu prayer was recited during the India versus Australia final.
BOOM found that the original video was shot during the India vs. Pakistan match held at Narendra Modi Stadium on October 14, 2023 whereas the audio has been taken from an unrelated video.