Recently, a video showing people blackening Hindi Text on signboards went viral on social media. Sharing the video, users claimed that the incident began following actor C Joseph Vijay’s swearing-in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Sharing the video on Facebook, a user wrote, “At Chennai Park railway station, activists were seen spray-painting over Hindi text on station signboards as language tensions escalated in Tamil Nadu. The incident surfaced days after Actor Vijay took oath as Chief Minister, with videos online presenting it as part of an “Anti-Hindi Hate” campaign.”
However, upon investigation, we discovered that the claim was misleading. The viral video is old. Here’s the fact check.
Fact Check
We started our investigation by taking screenshots from the viral video and conducting a reverse image search. This led us to a YouTube channel where the viral video was uploaded on March 12, 2026. According to the Tamil caption, the video shows an anti-Hindi protest.
This makes it clear that the viral video predates the TVK’s victory in Tamil Nadu.
Moving forward, we found a Facebook post on the official Facebook page of ‘The Wire’ on March 15, 2026 that contained an image similar to the screenshots from the viral video. The post read, “As Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Tamil Nadu on March 11, anti-Hindi protests erupted in the state.
Participants of the ‘May 17 Movement’, under the leadership of the movement’s organiser Thirumurugan Gandhi, walked into the Chennai Park Railway Station and painted black the recently placed station signage boards, which prioritised Hindi in the centre, with Tamil above and English below. An activist of the movement Siva Dileepan also jumped in front of a train entering the station and shouted, “Long live Tamil, down with Hindi.” He is undergoing treatment.
The incident echoes a long history of resistance in Tamil Nadu against the imposition of Hindi.
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On March 11, remembering the Tamil martyr Thalamuthu, who died on March 11, 1939 resisting the compulsory imposition of Hindi in schools, comrades of the May 17 Movement walked into Chennai Park Railway Station to erase the letters on newly displayed signboards. As they raised slogans, common people waiting on the platform joined in with slogans. Cadres of the May 17 Movement held anti-Hindi protests in various places. They removed Hindi letters from Chrompet and Nungambakkam railway stations in Chennai and from a station in Coimbatore. Cadres were arrested after the protest.”
Taking this clue, we conducted a relevant keyword search. This led us to the YouTube channel of “May 17 Movement” where we found a video on March 14, 2026, that matches the viral one.
According to the description, on March 11, 2026, the “May 17 Movement” workers, as a protest against the alleged Hindi imposition, spray-painted the Hindi text on the signboards at the Chennai Park Railway station.
This makes it clear that the viral video is old.
Conclusion
From our investigation, we can say that the claim is misleading. The viral video of blackening the Hindi text on the signboards predates the TVK’s victory in Tamil Nadu. On March 11, 2026, the “May 17 Movement” workers, as a protest against the alleged Hindi imposition, spray-painted the Hindi text on the signboards at the Chennai Park Railway station.
Title: Old Video Of Anti-Hindi Protest In Tamil Nadu Shared As A Recent Incident.
Fact Check By: Debanjana Baishya
Result: Misleading
