A 19-second video has been making the rounds on social media, claiming that a life-size statue of Indian cricketer Virat Kohli has been unveiled at Times Square in New York. This claim emerged during India’s successful campaign in the T20 World Cup, co-hosted by the West Indies and the USA from June 1 to June 29.
India played three league matches at the newly constructed Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, including a high-profile game against Pakistan.
Verified X user @StanVirat shared the video, calling for the statue to be recognized as the ‘eighth wonder of the world.’ As of this writing, the video has garnered over 190,000 views and more than 700 retweets.
Just Unveiled :A larger-than-life statue of Virat Kohli at the iconic Times Square.
This King’s Duty, we are going global and making history!
We’re delivering great sleep and great health to Virat Kohli.#GreatSleepGreatHealth #ViratKohli #worldcup #cricket #CGI pic.twitter.com/5WpkZcwa7i
— Duroflex (@Duroflex_world) June 23, 2024
Other X users, including @BluntIndianGal, @abhishekumar_18, and @RONBupdates, also shared the video, claiming that a statue of Virat Kohli had been unveiled at Times Square.
Several Facebook users posted images of the supposed ‘statue,’ touting it as a testament to Kohli’s prowess and international fame.
Numerous media reports from prominent news outlets such as India TV, News 18, Money Control, and ABP News also reported on the purported unveiling of Kohli’s statue at Times Square, treating it as evidence of his status as a ‘global icon.’
A keyword search on X revealed that the viral video was initially shared on June 23 by Duroflex, an Indian company specializing in mattresses, pillows, sleep accessories, furniture, and bed linen. The tweet included the hashtag ‘CGI’ (computer-generated imagery).
Following this lead, a Google keyword search led to a video uploaded by Duroflex’s official YouTube channel. The video’s caption and description indicated it was a computer-generated visualization, not a real statue.
An Instagram post by Duroflex further confirmed that the viral video of the statue was computer-generated.
Some media outlets, including The Indian Express, Live Mint, and Hindustan Times, which initially reported on “the unveiling of a larger-than-life statue of Kohli at Times Square,” have since updated their reports to clarify that the statue seen in the viral video was computer-generated.
To summarize, the claim that a statue of Virat Kohli has been unveiled at Times Square is false. The viral video, originally released by Duroflex, is a computer-generated one. Virat Kohli has been associated with Duroflex as its brand ambassador since May 2023.
