An aerial view shows a sizable group of individuals clad in yellow attire marching down a street. The image is circulating with claims that these are Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fans gathered in Ahmedabad to celebrate their team’s victory in the IPL 2023 final. The caption accompanying the photo states, “Chennai Super Kings fans are showing unparalleled enthusiasm in Ahmedabad.”
Fact
The image in question originates from Ethiopia and dates back several years. It is unrelated to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fans or any events in India. Therefore, any association of the image with CSK fans or India is incorrect and misleading.
Verification
Through a reverse-image search, we identified that the image was originally published on the news website CNN. The article titled ‘14 reasons why Ethiopia could be the next big thing in Africa travel’ featured the same image on July 25, 2016, with credit given to the Ethiopia Tourism Organization.
The caption accompanying the image states, “Running — Haile Gebrselassie and Tirunesh Dibaba are just two of the many world record-holding athletes and Olympic gold medalists that have come out of Ethiopia. And unsurprisingly, participating in events like the annual Great Ethiopian Run in Addis Ababa and EthioTrail Run in Abijatta-Shala National Park has become popular with tourists.”
This clarifies that the image depicts a scene related to running events in Ethiopia and has no connection to Chennai Super Kings fans or events in India.
A superior quality version of the image was additionally discovered on the UN’s MDG Achievement Fund website, where it was identified as being taken in Ethiopia. The description accompanying the image states, “Haile Gebreselassie kicks off the Great Ethiopian Run under the slogan ‘We Can End Poverty by 2015’.”
Multiple credible websites, including reputable news portals, have confirmed that the image was taken in Ethiopia.
Verdict
After conducting a thorough fact-check, Fake News Busters has determined that the image being circulated with claims of depicting massive Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fans in Ahmedabad is actually an old photograph from Ethiopia. The misleading claims about its location and context are inaccurate.
