RBI issues ₹7 Coin honouring MS Dhoni- viral claim is false

The Reserve Bank of India has not issued a ₹ 7 coin honouring cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

These days a post is going viral on the social media claiming that RBI (Reserve Bank of India) issues a ₹7 coin in honour of former Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Throughout his illustrious career, the number seven has been synonymous with Dhoni’s legacy, becoming an iconic symbol in Indian cricket. The iconic number 7 jersey worn by Dhoni has been retired by the Board of Control for Cricket in India in 2023,

The viral image claim that the RBI is doing this for his contributions to Indian cricket.  You can see the viral post below. 

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Fact Check– 

At first, we checked the website of RBI and so far, website has not issued any notification or press release regarding this information. Moreover, we looked into the RBI website for a list of coins in circulation and those no longer considered legal tender, but found no mention of the ₹7 coin.

Apart from this, the fact checking unit of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) of the Government of India has also refuted the viral claim. PIB tweeted that the claim made in the image is fake and that the Department of Economic Affairs has made no such announcement.

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For further clarification, we contacted RBI’s Kochi headquarters to ascertain the facts of the news. The officials also refuted the viral claim of ₹7 coin in honour of MS Dhoni.

Next, we conducted a reverse image search of the viral image and the results  which led us to  an Instagram post on the purported coin by @thetathyanews, dated November 3, 2024, stating, “The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is set to issue a new ₹7 coin in honour of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. This special coin recognizes Dhoni’s incredible contributions to Indian cricket, particularly his role as a leader both on and off the field. The ₹7 denomination is a tribute to his iconic jersey number.”

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The post has a disclaimer, stating, “This is NOT real news.‼️ This post is completely satire. This post is meant for entertainment purposes only.” We saw that “The Tathya” is an Instagram page that only posts satirical stories.

So, it is clear that a digitally created image of such a coin, featuring MS Dhoni’s face, was created by the Instagram handle @thetathyanews which frequently posts satirical news.

Conclusion- 

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral image to be False. The claim of Reserve Bank of India releasing a new ₹7 coin in honor of Mahendra Singh Dhoni is false. The RBI has made no such announcement.