A viral photograph doing the rounds on social media claims to show the student identity card issued to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay during his college days. The image spread rapidly across Tamil social media circles, accompanied by a nostalgic caption, and was shared widely as if it were authentic. Fact Crescendo investigated the claim.
Social Media Claims
A series of Facebook posts went viral, claiming to be the student identity card of CM Thalapathy Vijay from 1996. The image showed what appeared to be an official Loyola College student ID bearing Vijay’s name and details.
As Vijay is known to have studied at Loyola (LOYOLA) College in Chennai, many users shared above image believing them to be real, while others questioned the veracity.
Fact Check
Our investigation began with a close examination of the viral ID card itself. The very first red flag was visible in the college name: the card printed it as “LOYOLAL”, with a stray extra letter ‘L’ at the end.
We then compared the college logo printed on the viral image, against the official logo on Loyola College’s website. The two logos were visibly and unmistakably different from each other, pointing to a fabricated image.
Further discrepancy emerged in the degree classification. Visual Communications is a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) programme, but the viral ID image had listed it incorrectly as a Bachelor of Arts (B.A). A check of Loyola College’s official Visual Communications department page confirmed that the course is indeed categorized under B.Sc., not B.A.
The principal’s signature on the viral image also raised questions. It was attributed to Fr. Arogyasamy SJ, who is the current principal of the college and has assumed duties only since late 2023. A review of Loyola College’s institutional history indicated that the principal during 1990s were different personnel.
Perhaps the most telling factual error was the admission year. The viral card listed 1996 as the Year of Admission. Vijay, however, dropped out of college in 1992 to pursue his acting career. This was independently verified through the affidavit he submitted during the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections, which places his departure from college squarely in 1992.
Finally, we submitted the viral image to two independent AI detection tools, Image Detector and Undetectable AI. Both tools confirmed that the photograph had been generated using Artificial Intelligence.
Join us to learn more about our fact-check investigations.
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Google News | TikTok
Conclusion
Taken together, the findings are unambiguous. The college name is misspelt, the logo does not match, the degree type is wrong, the principal’s name is inaccurate, the admission year contradicts Vijay’s own legal declaration, and AI detection tools flag the image as synthetically generated. The viral photograph is a fabrication.
Also Read: 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly Election: Regime Change and Circulated Fake News – An Analysis
Title: Is This the Student ID Card Issued to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay, During His College Days?
Written By: S.G. Prabu
Result: Altered
