How Joseph Vijay’s Rise Triggered a Digital Hate Storm

Following Vijay’s political rise, social media platforms have seen a surge of coordinated narratives, conspiracy theories, and identity-based attacks targeting him. These campaigns effectively blur the line between political criticism and targeted disinformation. 

Tamil Nadu witnessed a seismic political event last week — a political party barely two years old disrupted the state’s long-standing political order. Breaking the six-decade dominance of the Dravidian duopoly, Tamil Nadu elected its first non-Dravidian political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam(TVK) on May 4. C. Joseph Vijay, the popular actor from the Tamil film industry, amazed political scientists, opposition parties, and the public alike as he ascended to the zenith of power in the state. He crossed his first hurdle in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, winning the trust vote on the floor of the House with 144 ‘ayes’.

The political future of the state under a completely new regime with no prior political experience, remains to be seen. Yet, before any of  that unfolds, a section of social media users is frustrated by the man’s name and the identity he carries through it.

The first Christian Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, C. Joseph Vijay’, social media users wrote on X. A massive hate campaign is now underway by right-wing accounts, including criticism over yet another ‘anti-Hindu’ head of a state, conspiracy theories about the Catholic Church being the mastermind behind Vijay’s rise to power, and much more. Many others targeted events from his personal life, including the religion of women he was allegedly involved with.

Another section circulated altered and old videos claiming that the government had already initiated anti-Hindu measures. 

A targeted campaign of this scale points to growing paranoia among Hindutva segments about further losing their already feeble ground in the state.

“He suddenly became Joseph Vijay!”

‘Tamil Nadu has 88% Hindus, yet they chose a Christian, Joseph Vijay, as their CM. This is why Prabhu Shri Ram chose monkeys over Tamils’, a user named @AbhishekkkK wrote on X on May 10. As of May 12, the post had garnered 22,500 views and 725 likes.

‘Monkeys over Tamils’ is a politically charged analogy referring to the Ramayana, in which  Lord Shri Ram used the Hanuman Sena, or monkeys, to build the bridge to Lanka from the southern coast of Tamil Nadu. While most comments defended the Tamil Nadu voters’ mandate by criticising Modi and BJP-ruled states, some users made remarks such as, ‘Guess literacy rate has nothing to do with common sense’.     

Another user began a post with, ‘Congratulations Tamil Nadu, you have made history today’. The post stated that his name is C. Joseph Vijay, where ‘C stands for Chandrasekaran. That is a Hindu name. Vijay is also a Hindu name. Joseph is sitting quietly in the middle.”

The user then went on to point out that Vijay wore a full Western suit for the oath-taking ceremony instead of a dhoti or veshti, which they described as Tamil Nadu’s ‘traditional dress’. The post concluded with the lines:

“Faith moves mountains, they say.
Let us see what it does to governance.

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”

There are also numerous posts claiming that, all these years, he branded himself simply as ‘Vijay’, and that the ‘Joseph’ has only suddenly emerged now. Derogatory images portraying Vijay in missionary attire, resembling figures such as Mother Teresa, are also doing the rounds online.

‘A plot by the church’: Conspiracy theories surrounding Vijay 

On May 6, just after the results were announced, Jesus Anoints Ministries, a Facebook account that describes itself as ‘a non-profit Christian ministry registered in the United States of America’, posted a video with the caption: ‘Prophecy: A Young Leader Vijay (TVK) Rising in Tamil Nadu’.

In the video, Samuel Meesala, a man identified as an evangelist and author, speaks about Vijay as being guided by God’s hand, comparing the rise of Jesus Christ from the lower rungs of society to Vijay’s political journey. He says, “If God chooses to raise Vijay, it is not because of a party, not because of strategy, it is because God is able to lift a man to a position to bless people”

The page mostly shares Christian spiritual content, along with posts about political developments concerning Christian communities, including the FCRA amendment. The page has around 2,200 followers.

Posts such as these are being widely used by right-wing accounts to propel conspiracy theories surrounding Vijay’s massive victory.

An account called ‘Hindu’ wrote, ‘Sudden fast rise of Joseph Vijay TVK is funded by Christian conversion gangs (missionaries)’. Others have written elaborate multi-part posts describing Vijay’s rise as a master plan orchestrated by missionaries.

In a post titled ‘Decoding Joseph Vijay’s Win & Rise to Power!!’, a user named Mahavir claimed that the Church needed a new political front because the DMK-VCK model had become too aggressive and counterproductive. The user went on to argue that missionaries traditionally operate subtly — through institutions, influence, and narrative control — rather than through open confrontation. According to the post, Joseph Vijay emerged as a softer and more acceptable face for this strategy, as ‘the Church cannot afford rising Hindu resistance disrupting that ecosystem’.

The post concluded by claiming that ‘Vijay is just a front face as CM’, and alleged that the people behind him are the Lottery Martin group, Church and Deep State.

The ‘Lottery Martin’ referred to here is none other than the lottery baron Santiago Martin. His company, Future Gaming and Hotel Services Pvt. Ltd., purchased electoral bonds worth ₹13.68 billion between April 2019 and January 2024, making it the single largest donor to political parties through the electoral bonds scheme. Aadhav Arjuna, TVK’s most visible election organiser and strategist, who is now a cabinet minister in the Tamil Nadu government, is the son-in-law of Santiago Martin. 

Many users have targeted this connection to draw links between the CM and Santiago Martin. However, reports also note that Aadhav was once a close aide within the DMK ecosystem and an associate of V. Sabareesan, the son-in-law of M. K. Stalin. He later assumed a senior position in VCK before a bitter fallout with the party leadership and eventually joining TVK.

Personal attacks and fake narratives 

Vijay was also subjected to intense online scrutiny because of ongoing issues in his personal life. In February, his wife had reportedly filed for divorce on grounds of infidelity. Posts and memes criticising, ridiculing, and attacking Vijay, his wife, and the actress he was allegedly involved with, have flooded social media. Right-wing accounts have used these claims to portray him as a potentially unworthy leader.

Fake claims and old unrelated videos are also being circulated to reinforce these narratives. One such video, showing Vijay participating in a procession carrying an image of Jesus Christ, went viral after his victory. We identified it as an old video being presented in a misleading context. 

Another video claiming that anti-Hindi protests are intensifying after Vijay assumed power is also being widely shared. This too is an old video dating back to March, which, according to The Indian Express, actually shows protests organised at railway stations in Chennai against attempts to impose Hindi in Tamil Nadu by the May 17 movement.

What explains the right-wing backlash 

Stanly Johny, senior journalist at The Hindu and author of several books, said that “pundits underestimated Vijay throughout his campaign”.

According to him, the fact that Vijay sought support from non-NDA parties—when he could have more easily aligned with the AIADMK or PMK—was commendable. “He is looking for an alliance with some ideological common ground rather than a completely opportunistic one”, he said in a Facebook post.

He also noted that Vijay’s rise complicates the BJP’s plans in Tamil Nadu. “They wanted to grow into the space created by the departure of Jayalalithaa. They thought they could eat into the anti-DMK base (which is occupied by the AIADMK) and emerge as a force. That space is now gone”, he added.

Though Vijay has called the BJP his ideological opponent at TVK’s inaugural conference, he has not targeted the Hindutva bloc as fiercely as he has targeted the DMK and former Chief Minister M. K. Stalin.

At the first public rally after the disastrous Karur stampede that claimed 41 lives, Vijay called the DMK ‘an evil power’ but spared the BJP. The exact political positioning of TVK and Vijay remains ambiguous.

The Sangh’s attacks on Vijay’s Christian identity appear to align with its broader ideological positioning around minority politics, particularly in the context of growing attacks on Christian communities.

As the head of a state that is facing the stiffest resistance and economic pressure from the Union government, how the TVK-led government moves forward remains to be seen in due course of time.