‘The Times of India’ (TOI) recently published a report claiming that the former captain of the Indian men’s cricket team Virat Kohli is constructing a cricket pitch at his new farmhouse in Alibaug, Maharashtra. However, on 15 August 2023, Kohli denounced this as fake news. In this context, a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that Instagram followers for TOI have plummeted dramatically from 5.6 million to 2.8 million following this episode. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: ‘The Times of India’ lost 2.8 million Instagram followers after Kohli called it out for spreading fake news about constructing a cricket pitch at his farmhouse.
Fact: The viral screenshot has been edited. Social media stats indicate that the Times of India’s Instagram page has maintained over 2.8 million followers since at least May 2023, and it never reached 5.6 million followers. Furthermore, the stats from the past 7 days indicate a net increase in followers. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
First, we examined TOI’s Instagram account and noted that as of 18 August 2023, the page has 2.8 million followers.
Subsequently, we analysed the page’s follower count over a 90-day period using social media analytics tools like InsTrack and Social Blade. The statistics indicate that the page has maintained 2.8 million+ followers since at least May 2023, and it never reached 5.6 million followers.
Additionally, the stats from the last 7 days show a net increase in followers.
This data contradicts the viral claim that TOI’s Instagram channel experienced a significant loss of followers following Kohli’s criticism of the report and indicates that the viral screenshot has been edited. Furthermore, TOI retracted the article and issued an apology.
To sum it up, TOI didn’t lose 2.8 million Instagram followers after Kohli’s criticism of their inaccurate report.
