A day ahead of the Tamil Nadu elections, Frontline Magazine (of The Hindu group) has called out Vijay’s fans and his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, for circulating a fake cover with their name. The cover claimed that TN is experiencing a new ‘political force’ led by Vijay and his party, a claim the magazine has now clarified as false.
‘Vijay wave’ fake cover circulated
An X (formerly Twitter) user named Dr Ravishankar Sadasivam posted a fake cover of Frontline magazine. The picture on the cover shows a massive crowd gathered as Vijay passes by in his van during a campaign. The cover story’s headline reads: Vijay wave, and the subhead reads: “After five decades, Tamil Nadu is witnessing a new political force that has shattered conventional bipolar politics and turned the state’s entrenched Dravidian duology upside down.”
The post’s caption read: “The wave is real. It has sustained till elections. I also was one among those who believed that it will drop to under 15% as election nears, but it is actually remaining the massive same. The only thing that remains to be seen is if it’s a tsunami. Vijay will win many seats, and he is certainly a contender for the top post in a 3 cornered fight. He draws the largest spontaneous crowd after MGR in TN electoral history. The crowd will certainly vote for him. It’s childish to be in denial.”
Magazine slams fake cover
The official social media accounts of Frontline took cognisance of the fake cover being circulated and called out Vijay’s fans. They wrote on X and Instagram, “Note to the public! This cover is fake and was not published by @frontline_india magazine. It’s being falsely circulated online by supporters of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam. Please verify sources before sharing misinformation.” They also posted a picture of the cover with ‘fake’ stamped on it, directly calling out TVK, “THIS COVER IS FAKE. Frontline has not published it. TVK is circulating misinformation.”
The internet was shocked to see the cover was a fake. One X user wrote, “Take them on in court. Let him and his party learn a lesson.” Another wrote, “Shame on you Vijay @TVKVijayHQ stop embarrassing us.” Some even suggested that the magazine should file a case against TVK, with one person writing, “Why don’t you file case and make a complaint with ECI?” “You can take severe action against them or give them a warning, for spreading misinformation using your name,” wrote another.
The Tamil Nadu elections will be held on April 23, and Vijay will be contesting for the first time via his TVK party. His final film, Jana Nayagan, has yet to be certified by the CBFC after being delayed from its January release.
