A photograph claiming to show a massive turnout at a Cockroach Janta Party protest in New Delhi has become the subject of widespread misinformation on social media, with users falsely claiming the image was artificially generated to inflate the party’s popularity. However, a detailed fact-check reveals a more complex picture of digital manipulation and coordinated messaging.

The photograph in question purportedly depicts crowds gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on June 6 during a CJP protest. As the image circulated across social media platforms, numerous accounts alleged it was created using artificial intelligence to exaggerate attendance numbers and boost the political group’s standing. The claim gained significant traction, with multiple viral posts attracting thousands of shares and sparking heated debates about authenticity and political manipulation.

A closer examination of the accounts spreading this narrative reveals a pattern. Many of the profiles regularly post content supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath while simultaneously criticizing the Cockroach Janta Party. One account describes itself as “INDIAN | जय श्री राम | raw | unfiltered | your thoughts my voice,” while another called “World OF Hindus” uses the bio “Unapologetic. Loud. Proud. Speaking the truths about Dharma & History that the world tries to hide.” These accounts shared the image alongside commentary suggesting the CJP protest had failed to draw crowds and that supporters were resorting to AI-generated imagery.

Investigation into the photograph’s origins, however, tells a different story. A reverse image search traced the picture to legitimate news coverage published by The Hindu on June 6, where it appeared with a credit to photographer Shashi Shekhar Kashyap. The caption identified those pictured as innovator and educator Sonam Wangchuk, along with members and supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party during their demonstration at Jantar Mantar.

The same photograph also appeared in Frontline magazine’s coverage of the protest, with a more detailed caption identifying CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, spokespersons Saurav Das and Vijeta Dahiya, and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk among the protesters. The demonstration was held to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged examination-related lapses. Again, the image was credited to photographer Shashi Shekhar Kashyap from The Hindu.

This confirmation establishes that the core image originated from a genuine photograph captured during an actual protest event, not from artificial intelligence generation. However, the story does not end there.

A detailed comparison between the viral image and the original version published by The Hindu revealed notable differences. The manipulated version circulating on social media contains duplicated visual elements and repeated crowd patterns absent from the original photograph. Certain sections of the crowd appear nearly identical, a telltale sign of digital manipulation through copy-pasting or cloning tools. Additionally, differences in crowd density and overall composition are evident between the two versions.

To determine whether artificial intelligence played any role, the viral image was analyzed using specialized AI-detection tools including Hive Moderation and Sightengine. Both platforms returned near-zero probability scores for AI generation, classifying the image as human-made photography. This result is significant because AI-detection tools are specifically designed to identify synthetically created images but cannot determine whether a genuine photograph has been edited after capture. Since the source material was an authentic photograph, detection tools would classify it as real regardless of subsequent alterations.

The situation represents a sophisticated disinformation campaign that weaponizes a real photograph through digital manipulation, then falsely attributes that manipulation to the political party itself. By altering the original image to show duplicated crowds and then claiming the CJP created an AI-generated image to boost its popularity, the campaign attempts to damage the party’s credibility while simultaneously making it appear desperate for support.

The conclusion is clear: the viral image is not AI-generated, but rather a digitally manipulated version of an authentic news photograph. The manipulation appears designed to support a coordinated anti-CJP narrative being pushed by accounts aligned with opposing political interests. The original photograph accurately documented a real protest event, but the altered version circulating online misrepresents both the event and the intentions behind the image’s creation. This case highlights the evolving nature of political disinformation, where authentic materials are twisted and weaponized through a combination of digital editing and false attribution.