Virat Kohli's brother, Vikas, has clarified that the photo he posted on Instagram yesterday was not of his niece.
Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma and husband, Indian cricketer Virat Kohli welcomed a baby girl on Monday afternoon. Virat took to Twitter to announce the news via a statement, and also assured fans that both Anushka and the baby are safe.
"We are thrilled to share with you that we have been blessed with a baby girl this afternoon. We thank you all for your love, prayers and good wishes. Anushka and the baby are both healthy and we are feeling beyond blessed to start this new chapter of our lives. We hope that you can respect our privacy at this time. Love, Virat," he wrote on Twitter and Instagram.
Soon after the announcement, Vikas Kohli shared a picture of a baby's feet to welcome the new addition to their family. He captioned the picture, "Happiness overboard .... angel in the house."
However, many thought that baby in the GIF shared by Vikas was Anushka and Virat's newborn child. It was not. A simple reverse search of the image reveals that the image is a stock photo and that its source is unknown.
Furthermore, Vikas himself clarified on Tuesday. In another Instagram post, he wrote, "The picture I posted yesterday to congratulate Anushka and Virat is a random picture and not the actual picture of the baby..."
The new parents had asked for privacy in their original Instagram post -- something which seemed quite lost on their fans.
A viral image of a woman holding a baby was shared widely as the baby's first photo. The said photo which is currently doing the rounds of the Internet turns out to be a common stock image used in "tips and tricks" articles for new moms welcoming their babies into the world.
The photo shared as "Anushka's baby photo" has appeared in many articles and is over a decade old.
A quick search on the video-sharing platform suggests that several YouTube channels have been breaking the happy news with their best intentions. But the photos used here are also either photoshopped or fake.