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Kolkata, Dec 4: The Indian cricket team's tour of South Africa will go ahead but the team's departure has been postponed by a week and T20 Internationals are no longer a part of the schedule, the two boards announced on Saturday, ending the speculation surrounding the series after a new COVID-19 variant triggered anxiety.

The four T20s will be played at a later date and Cricket South Africa said it will confirm the venues for the new schedule in the next 48 hours.

The Indians were originally set to leave on December 9 but the travel plans have changed, which means that the Tests are unlikely to start on December 17 as planned earlier.

India are scheduled to play three Tests and three ODIs during the tour.

CSA and BCCI Secretary Jay Shah's statements came as the Indian Board officials met for an Annual General Meeting here.

"BCCI has confirmed (to the) CSA that (the) Indian team will travel for three Tests and three ODIs. The remaining four T20Is will be played at a later date," Shah said in a statement.

Cricket South Africa appreciated BCCI's commitment to the series.

"Cricket South Africa can confirm that the India Tour will continue as originally scheduled, with a few adjustment to the logistical arrangements, such as the arrival time of the India Team," the CSA said.

"...the tour is now confirmed and the arrival timings of the India team will be moved out by a week, to allow for effective logistical planning.

"...CSA is pleased to announce that this tour will also take place under the strictest COVID-19 guidelines," it added in a statement.

CSA also made it clear the venues will be picked considering the safety of the players.

"CSA is also pleased to confirm that the allocation of match venues will still be in respect of the Bubble Safe Environment (BSEs) and therefore the decision on the allocations will take into account the need for safer playing environments," it said.

"CSA has instituted these world class standards and measures to ensure that all players, staff and officials are protected within this environment.

"CSA's main focus is to safeguard the cricket biosphere by managing strict entry standards and limited movement outside of its cordon."

South Africa's discovery of the Omicron variant has caused much trepidation as cases have soared in the country. The number of new cases in South Africa has zoomed from close to 200 a day in mid-November to over 16,000 on Friday.

The Netherlands tour of the Rainbow Nation also had to be abandoned after the emergence of the new variant triggered panic all around the world with many countries imposing travel bans on the country.

CSA also had to postpone its domestic fixtures after some of the players tested positive for the virus on arrival.

However, the India A squad stayed on in South Africa raising hopes that the subsequent senior tour will go ahead.

India also did not ban flights from South Africa though it put the nation in the "at risk" category.

The India tour not taking place would have caused massive financial damage to the CSA.

Acting CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki thanked his BCCI counterparts for their support in these trying times.

"I would like to thank both the leadership of Cricket South Africa, as well as the leadership of the BCCI for working so tirelessly to make this tour a reality.

"Even under the most uncertain times, the Boards kept the light of hope alive and kept us anticipating that this tour will indeed take place.

"For us as CSA it is always a meeting of old friends when the Proteas take on India, but we will still present the fans with a compelling proposition and a great spectacle to watch," said Moseki.

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Claim: Viral video shows celebrities from all around the world taking a dip in the holy water at Mahakumbh Mela.

Fact: The viral video is AI generated, these celebrities have not visited Mahakumbh Mela.

The Maha Kumbh Mela is a major Hindu festival held every 12 years at Prayagraj, India. It began on January 13, 2025, and will continue till February 26, 2025. This event is expected to attract around 40 crore visitors, making it the world's largest religious gathering. The festival's origins are rooted in Hindu mythology, symbolising the victory of gods over demons. Devotees believe that bathing at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati rivers cleanses sins and leads to salvation.

To accommodate the massive inflow of pilgrims, the authorities have established a temporary city spanning 4,000 hectares. This includes 150,000 tents, enhanced sanitation facilities, and improved transportation services. Security measures involve deploying 40,000 police officers and surveillance systems to ensure safety. Many foreign enthusiasts from countries like Brazil, Germany, South Africa are visiting the Mahakumbh Mela. Philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, the billionaire widow of Steve Jobs, co-founder and former CEO of Apple also visited the Kumbh Mela and received spiritual initiation from her guru and head seer of Panchayati Akhada Shri Niranjani Swami Kailasanand Giri.

Meanwhile, a video showing many celebrities like Elon Musk, Putin, USA President Donald Trump, football players Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, actors Will Smith, John Cena, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others and taking a dip in the holy water at the Maha Kumbh Mela. We can see the celebrities taking the holy dip with other devotees in the background. The video is in circulation with the captions like ‘Is elon musk in Kumbh mela 2025?’

Others shared it with caption ‘Haters will say its edited’

Here is the archived link of the claim.

Fact Check:

The claim is False. The video is an AI generated.

When we extracted the keyframes from the viral video, and searched using Google reverse image search, we found that the video was shared by several social media users with the captions like “Elon Musk, Putin, Donald Trump and Other Celebs at Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 - AI Version *Wait For End* #MahaKumbh2025 #MahaKumbhMela2025”

Some users shared the video with captions “और बनाओ AI…. भारत वाले हैं, तुम्हारा ही कबाड़ कर देंगे”. When translated it states “Make more AI…. They are Indians, they will destroy you”

 

When we used Deepfake detector by Invid tool to check whether the video is an AI generated one, it detected the video to be having moderate evidence of being AI generated. Most of the faces in the video were found to be AI-generated. When checked the faces in the video, we found that the faces of Indian PM Modi, US president Trump and Russian President Putin to be more than 90% deepfake.

 
 

According to an article publsihed in Hindustan Times, an AI video of international celebrities at the Mahakumbh Mela is creating waves online. The AI video shows top athletes like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi taking a dip in the Sangam, which is the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers.

World leaders like Donald Trump, Rishi Sunak, and Russia’s Vladimir Putin were seen in the AI video. The use of generative AI also brought Hollywood stars like Will Smith, Zendaya and Tom Holland to Mahakumbh. Meanwhile, the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, was seen taking a dip in the Sangam in the AI video. The video was shared on the Instagram page ‘Artificial Budhi’ and has gone viral with 5.7 million views in a matter of a few days. People in the comments section praised how realistic it looked, but also raised concerns about ethicality.

Hence, the viral video is not an original video, it is AI generated. The claim that several celebrities from various countries are seen taking holy dip in the Sangam at the Mahakumbh Mela is False.

(This story was originally published by telugupost.com, and republished by english.varthabharati.in as part of the Shakti Collective)

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