A morphed photograph is being shared online with the false claim that it shows Indian cricketer Kohli signing an autograph on a Pakistani national flag.
BOOM found the picture to be digitally manipulated. In the original photograph, Kohli is seen signing on the flag of his IPL franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
The Indian cricket team has arrived in Australia for their upcoming One Day International (ODI) series. Led by Shubman Gill, the Indian squad will face Australia in the first match on October 19, 2025.
The Claim
Several users on social media shared the photo with the caption, "Virat Kohli giving autographs to a Pakistani in Perth, Australia."
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
What We Found: Viral Photo Is Digitally Manipulated
1. Original Visual: A reverse image search led us to an NDTV article published on October 16, 2025, which featured the original photo. In that image, Virat Kohli is seen signing an RCB flag, not a Pakistani flag.
According to the article, which cited RevSportz Global, Kohli had given his autograph to Sahil, a Pakistani fan from Karachi. It mentioned that Sahil appreciated Kohli’s gesture and that the cricketer had honoured his request to sign on the RCB flag. The interaction can also be seen in a video shared by RevSportz Global’s verified X handle.
2. AI Detector Tools Flag Manipulation: The image was analysed using AI detection tools like Sightengine and Undetectable AI. Both tools indicated that the photograph was digitally altered and showed signs of AI-generated content.
