Hyderabad: A photograph purportedly showing a massive turnout at the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest held at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on June 6 is circulating widely on social media.
Several users claimed that an AI-generated image is being circulated online to help CJP gain popularity. The image has since been widely shared online, sparking debate over its authenticity.
Several posts making this claim have been widely shared online. Viral posts can be seen here, here and here.(Archive 1,Archive 2, Archive 3)
Why has the image gone viral?
NewsMeter also reviewed some of the accounts that shared the manipulated image.
Several of them regularly posted content supportive of the BJP, praised Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and criticised the Cockroach Janta Party.
Is there a social media campaign to malign CJP?
For example, one account described itself as “INDIAN | जय श्री राम | raw | unfiltered | your thoughts my voice |”, while another account, “World OF Hindus”, carried the bio: “Unapologetic. Loud. Proud. Speaking the truths about Dharma & History that the world tries to hide.”
The account shared the altered image alongside claims that the CJP protest had failed to attract a crowd and that supporters were using AI-generated visuals to exaggerate attendance.
NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading. The image is based on a real photograph taken during the protest. However, the original image shared by The Hindu showed no visual discrepancies like the viral image. A manipulated image is being circulated deliberately with an anti-CJP narrative.
Original image traced to news reports
A reverse image search led us to a report published by The Hindu on June 6, covering the CJP protest. We found the same image used in the report, credited to photographer Shashi Shekhar Kashyap.
The photo caption read: “Sonam Wangchuk, innovator and educator, along with members and supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party, during the protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on June 06, 2026.”
This confirms that the image originated from a real photograph captured during the protest and was not generated using Artificial Intelligence.
But is the original image the same as the viral image?
Viral image differs from the original
We compared the viral image with the version published by The Hindu and found visible differences.
The viral image contained duplicated visual elements and repeated crowd patterns that are not present in the original photograph. Certain sections of the crowd appear nearly identical, indicating digital manipulation.
We also observed differences in crowd density and overall composition between the viral image and the original version published by The Hindu.
These differences indicate that the viral image is a digitally manipulated version of the photograph originally published by The Hindu.
But is the image AI?
What is the verdict by AI detection tools?
To verify whether the image is AI-generated, we analysed the viral image using AI-detection tools, including Hive Moderation and Sightengine.
Both tools returned a near-zero probability of the image being AI-generated and classified it as a human-made photograph.
AI-detection tools are designed to identify synthetic images generated by Artificial Intelligence. They do not determine whether a genuine photograph has been digitally edited after it was taken.
Since the source image was captured by a photographer, AI-detection tools are likely to classify it as authentic even if alterations were later made.
Conclusion
The viral image is not AI-generated. However, an original image of the CJP protest was altered and pushed to go viral with the claim that an AI-generated image is being used to boost CJP’s popularity.
It is based on a genuine photograph taken during the CJP protest in New Delhi. However, the circulating version has been digitally manipulated and does not accurately represent the original image.
Therefore, the claim is misleading.
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