Fact-Check: Photo of Christian Cross in TTD Chair BR Naidu's Office Is Edited

A photo showing a cross on a sphere, in the office of the newly appointed chairperson of the Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) board Bollineni Rajagopal (BR) Naidu — who also owns Telugu news channel TV5 — was shared on social media.

• Those sharing the photo have claimed that Naidu belongs to the Christian community, owing to the religious symbolism in his office.

An archive of this post can be seen .

(An archived version of another post sharing this claim can be seen .)

But...?: The photo has been altered to include the cross.

• The original photo shows an object resembling a trophy, with a spherical top.

How did we find out the truth?: We ran a keyword search using Naidu's name on social media platforms.

• On Instagram, we came across a of a person congratulating Naidu on being appointed as the chairperson of the TTD, which was clicked inside his office.

• The shelf in the background showed the object in question, but without the cross on it.

There is no cross on top of the sphere.

A search on X (formerly Twitter) showed us more showing the object in the background, which also did not show any cross on it.

Congratulations BR Naidu Uncle…
The Most Deserving Person for TTD♥️ I am Extremely Happy for you 💐💐💐💐💐 pic.twitter.com/wh8nvtDxqH

— Swathi Reddy (@Swathireddytdp) October 30, 2024

Here, we came across the original, uncropped photo, shared by user 'YashTDP'.

Congratulations BR Naidu Garu 💐for getting nominated as TTD Chairman..!!! pic.twitter.com/s0tLEw2tc5

— Mr Yash (@YashTDP_) October 30, 2024

It did not show a cross on the object.

One cannot see a cross on the original photo.

We also saw a post by the account of the Andhra Pradesh government's fact-checking unit, debunking the claim.

టిటిడి చైర్మన్‌గా ఎంపికైన బిఆర్ నాయుడు గారు క్రిస్టియన్ అంటూ సోషల్ మీడియాలో ఫేక్ అకౌంట్ల ద్వారా చేస్తున్న ప్రచారం పూర్తిగా అవాస్తవం. అవాస్తవాలు ప్రచారం చేస్తున్న వారిపై చట్టపరమైన చర్యలు ఉంటాయి.#AndhraPradesh pic.twitter.com/TToVKZ4inE

— FactCheck.AP.Gov.in (@FactCheckAPGov) October 31, 2024

Conclusion: An edited photo showing BR Naidu with a cross in the background is being shared on social media.

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