Vijay, TVK and the rise of fake political narratives | Focus Tamil Nadu

Ajouté : 2026-05-18

[00:00:00]It is just a week since actor of politician C. Joseph Vijay took over as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister.

[00:00:05]But the state has seen a flood of fake political narratives.

[00:00:10]Almost overnight, social media has turned Vijay and his TVK into a factory of historic first, a revolutionary governance, and unprecedented change.

[00:00:19]There is just one problem. Many of these claims are exaggerated, misleading, or even completely false.

[00:00:31]>> [music] >> Vanakkam. This is T. Suresh Kumar. Thank you for joining me in this special episode of The Hindu Focus Tamil Nadu.

[00:00:41]Today, let us separate the reel from the real.

[00:00:45]Ever since TVK 108 seats, social media has been flooded with viral political messaging.

[00:00:52]Interestingly, most of these claims are not officially coming from the TVK or the government. But they are being amplified through influencers, anonymous handles, fan pages, YouTube channels, and WhatsApp groups. And they come in different languages, Tamil, English, Hindi, even Urdu.

[00:01:09]Every few hours, a new Vijay revolution appears online. Before one claim gets fact-checked, another goes viral.

[00:01:17]Let us start with one major claim.

[00:01:19]Soon after the election, social media celebrated TVK for supposedly creating a social revolution by fielding large number of scheduled caste candidates in general constituencies.

[00:01:30]Some posts claimed five of these candidates had won in general seats.

[00:01:34]Some claimed 20 candidates were fielded, and some others claimed that the party had fielded 28 SC candidates in general seats. But the Election Commission's own data tells a different story, as The Hindu found.

[00:01:48]Only one TVK SC candidate was fielded in a general constituency, Shankarapuram.

[00:01:53]And even he lost.

[00:01:55]On the other hand, in reality, it was the Naam Tamilar Katchi that fielded several SC ST candidates in general seats.

[00:02:02]And the only SC candidate elected from a general constituency in this election was Vishwanathan of the Congress from Madurai.

[00:02:10]But, by the time this was fact-checked, the narrative had already gone viral.

[00:02:16]And then came the {quote} "unquote" humble beginnings campaign.

[00:02:21]One minister spoke about struggling to pay the rent for his mother's house.

[00:02:25]Another MLA said he could not afford private transport to come to Chennai.

[00:02:30]One claimed he came from a family that had a tea stall.

[00:02:34]Another projected himself as an auto driver elevated by Vijay's politics.

[00:02:39]Even Vijay said, "I know very well what poverty and hunger mean."

[00:02:52]>> [cheering] >> There is nothing wrong in humble beginnings.

[00:03:13]But, problems begin when political branding clashes with official records.

[00:03:19]Because election affidavits of these candidates tell a different story.

[00:03:25]Several of these legislators declared assets worth crores of rupees.

[00:03:29]They owned luxury SUVs. They had premium apartments.

[00:03:34]Or they stayed in properties which many middle-class families cannot even afford to take on rent.

[00:03:41]Now, you cannot market yourself as a poor common man politician when you file Crorepati affidavits before the Election Commission.

[00:03:49]Because people may forget your speeches, but documents uh remain to tell a different story.

[00:03:56]And then came the qualification confusion.

[00:04:00]Some MLAs publicly introduced themselves as engineers or postgraduates. Even the party official letterheads described them so. But, their affidavits mentioned entirely different qualifications.

[00:04:12]And then social media produced perhaps the funniest statistic of all. Just take a look at this viral message claim which claimed that the TVK's 108 MLAs included six PhDs, 22 postgraduates, five IIT engineers, eight doctors, 40 lawyers and engineers, 25 graduates, 12 higher secondary pass candidates, and eight class 10 pass candidates.

[00:04:41]It looks wonderful, no doubt. But, there's one point here. If you add up these numbers, the total comes to 126.

[00:04:50]Whereas the TVK only has 107 MLAs because Vijay resigned his Trichy East seat.

[00:04:55]But, the post still went viral because graphics matter both and arithmetic today.

[00:05:02]Perhaps the biggest fake narrative surrounding Vijay is this idea that Tamil Nadu has suddenly entered a completely new era, the Vijay era.

[00:05:12]For example, one viral campaign claimed Vijay gave Tamil Nadu its first woman minister.

[00:05:19]This is completely false because Tamil Nadu has had two women chief ministers, Jayalalithaa and Janaki Ramachandran.

[00:05:27]Even during the days of the Madras Presidency, it had a woman minister in Rukmani Lakshmipathi.

[00:05:33]Post-independence Tamil Nadu has seen several women ministers such as Jyoti Venkatachalam, Lourdammal Simon, Satyavani Muthu, and more recently Valarmathi Gokulindra, Geetha Jeevan, and Kayalvizhi Selvaraj.

[00:05:46]Similarly, another viral claim declared this was the first time a SC minister had received a major portfolio like school education.

[00:05:53]Again, this is false narrative because Kakkan was home minister under Kamaraj.

[00:05:58]Parithi Ilamvazhuthi handled information in the M. Karunanidhi cabinet. Dhanapal became speaker under Jayalalithaa and he also held the food portfolio earlier.

[00:06:07]K. Ponmudi Chellian handled higher education in the outgoing M. K. Stalin cabinet.

[00:06:13]So, history certainly did not begin in the Vijay era.

[00:06:18]Then came the use of AI.

[00:06:21]An image of Vijay eating lunch from a simple tiffin box inside the secretariat went massively viral.

[00:06:28]The message here was obvious. Look how simple and humble the Chief Minister is.

[00:06:34]Except for the fact that this image was AI generated and not real.

[00:06:42]But even after being exposed, it continued circulating online.

[00:06:47]Then another viral post celebrated Vijay for removing the white towel placed behind the Chief Minister's chair after criticism emerged online.

[00:06:57]People projected it as a proof of responsive governance.

[00:07:01]But photos from the archives show earlier Chief Ministers too did not use such towels, be it Karunanidhi, Jayalalithaa, or Stalin.

[00:07:08]Again, an ordinary issue became a manufactured success story.

[00:07:13]Now, this same pattern has appeared in claims relating to governance.

[00:07:18]A complaints portal was hailed as Vijay's innovation. In reality, it was the existing Chief Minister's self portal that's been functioning for more than 25 years.

[00:07:27]The CM helpline was projected as a new initiative, but it already existed.

[00:07:34]Panic buttons in buses for women's safety were marketed as fulfillment of Vijay's election promise.

[00:07:40]But what's the fact here?

[00:07:42]The MTC buses in Chennai already have panic buttons.

[00:07:47]Even old government circulars are now being recycled as achievements of the Vijay era.

[00:07:55]For instance, a year-old circular asking sub-registrars to provide seating for the public was circulated as a brand new reform.

[00:08:03]And even some television channels fell for it.

[00:08:06]And then came perhaps the most unintentionally funny example.

[00:08:12]A viral post showed Olive Ridley turtle hatchlings being released into the sea with this caption.

[00:08:18]In the Thalapathy Vijay era, every tiny step towards the ocean is a victory for nature.

[00:08:25]But there's a tiny problem with this.

[00:08:27]Tamil Nadu has been releasing Olive Ridley hatchlings every year along the coastline for decades.

[00:08:34]But apparently now even turtles are part of the Vijay wave.

[00:08:39]Now, let us just be fair.

[00:08:41]People genuinely voted for change.

[00:08:45]But nobody expects Vijay to transform governance overnight because real governance takes time.

[00:08:53]And if Vijay genuinely introduces innovative governance models, then people will recognize it naturally, organically, without fake amplification.

[00:09:02]Because the real danger here is not criticism from the opposition.

[00:09:06]The real danger is unrealistic expectations created by over-enthusiastic supporters.

[00:09:11]When every old scheme is marketed as a revolution, when every routine action is treated as historic, when AI image becomes propaganda material, then eventually people will stop trusting even genuine achievements.

[00:09:26]And that becomes dangerous for governance itself.

[00:09:30]Vijay certainly does not need this. He needs credibility.

[00:09:35]His government should focus less on viral reels and more on measurable governance.

[00:09:41]This is where the state information department, the DIPR, must play a serious role.

[00:09:46]Not through expensive propaganda units, not through the fact-check unit. In fact, that needs to be disbanded. But through quick, technology-driven clarification systems that immediately debunk fake claims linked to the government.

[00:09:59]And perhaps the best thing Vijay can do right now is publicly discourage this culture of fake glorification.

[00:10:08]He must also discourage exaggerated political bragging.

[00:10:12]Because humility is not proved through emotional poverty stories.

[00:10:16]It is proved through governance and public contact.

[00:10:20]Tamil Nadu does not need governance through viral reels.

[00:10:25]It needs governance, which is rooted in facts, delivery, and accountability.

[00:10:31]Because finally, governments are judged by performance, not by WhatsApp forwards or social media posts.

[00:10:40]On that note, this is D. Sureshkumar signing off. I shall meet you in another video. Thank you.