Against the backdrop of the ongoing farmers’ protest in Delhi, an image of cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni with a Sikh man is being widely shared on social media. It is being claimed that Dhoni visited a Gurdwara recently amid the farmers’ protests which can be seen as his endorsement of the movement.
A premium subscribed X (formerly Twitter) user Dr Nimo Yadav Commentary (@niiravmodi) shared the image in question on February 26 with the following caption: “Mahendra singh Dhoni didn’t go to Ram mandir Pran prathisthan after being invited but he has visited Gurudwara today during ongoing Farmer’s protest.
MSD is a man with spine who is still upholding secular values ❤️”
The tweet has received over 4.3 Lakh views and has been retweeted over 1,800 times. (Archive)
Mahendra singh Dhoni didn’t go to Ram mandir Pran prathisthan after being invited but he has visited Gurudwara today during ongoing Farmer’s protest.
MSD is a man with spine who is still upholding secular values ❤️ pic.twitter.com/YFvu2LTslj
— Dr Nimo Yadav Commentary (@niiravmodi) February 26, 2024
Several other Facebook users reshared the above tweet amplifying the claim.
Fact Check
On running a reverse image search on the viral image we came across a tweet by user Gurpreet Singh Anand (@ustaadji) made on February 26. The caption said: “Mahendra Singh Dhoni at the @khalsajatha”.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni at the @khalsajatha. pic.twitter.com/rDGHMHPPXq
— Gurpreet Singh Anand (@ustaadji) February 25, 2024
Under the tweet, in reply to a user’s comment, Gurpreet Singh Anand mentioned that the image was from MS Dhoni’s visit to the place about 18 months ago.
He visited around 18 months ago. We talked about the history of the Khalsa Jatha with Shaheed Udham Singh, Princess Sophia Duleep Singh and the Indian independence movement.
— Gurpreet Singh Anand (@ustaadji) February 29, 2024
We checked the page which was tagged in the above post and found that it belonged to a Sikh institution and Gurdwara called Khalsa Jatha British Isles based in London.
Further, we came across another post by Gurpreet Singh Anand wherein he shared another image with MS Dhoni seemingly from the same day as the viral image. This image was shared by him on October 1, 2022.
I met MS Dhoni a couple of months ago at the Gurdwara @khalsajatha in London and noticed he was calm, at one with himself and able to absorb the spiritual moment. It’s that inner calmness that gives fortitude in situations which may stress many others out. pic.twitter.com/nQDRAO3pg7
— Gurpreet Singh Anand (@ustaadji) October 1, 2022
We could also find the viral image on Gurpreet Singh Anand’s Instagram page shared on July 17, 2022.
View this post on Instagram
Hence, the above findings make it clear that the image has not been taken recently, it is nearly two-year old and unrelated to the ongoing farmers’ protest.
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