Center verifies PM Modi’s viral deepfake video, blames ‘Pakistani propaganda accounts’ for misleading content AI | Today’s news
The government at the Center led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently issued an alert warning social media users against “deeply fake AI-generated videos” of Prime Minister Modi. The Press Information Bureau (PIB) on Friday debunked the viral videos and claimed that the statements made in the clip regarding the Delhi protest were “made up” and “never made”.
Claiming that these Pakistani manipulations are aimed at “misleading the public”, the PIB clarified that no such statement was made by the Prime Minister.
In a post on X, PIB said: “Pakistani propaganda accounts are circulating a video of PM @narendramodi containing fabricated statements he never made regarding the Delhi protest. He added: “This is an ‘#AI-generated deepfake video’ shared to mislead the public. No such statement has been made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
The authority even provided the original link to the video and urged the public to alert and report suspicious content related to the Indian government through the PIB Fact Check lever on X.
What did Prime Minister Modi’s say in a viral post on July 23?
In his midnight Instagram post on Thursday, PM Modi promised strict measures against the paper leak. The Prime Minister’s statement, which garnered 1.76 million views, said: “Friends, I know that the paper leak is not a common problem. It is very painful for thousands of students and their families. That is why many steps have been taken in the last two and a half months.”
He added: “The culprits have been caught and are in jail. Our most important responsibility was to ensure that the students did not waste even one year. It was very important to clear the exams immediately.”
Confirming that the government has used its powers to hold exams for at least 22,000 students, he said in Hindi, “I have given instructions to the departments for fast-track trial. Today, the departments worked hard and approved me late at night. There will be a discussion in the cabinet tomorrow. It will take a final form after the proposals of the cabinet members, once it is approved in the parliament. And from Monday, when it is possible, the parliament will start.”
PIB facts check other viral statements of high-ranking officials
Apart from the fact-checking AI-generated videos of PM Modi, the government has also revealed viral deeply fake videos of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Chief of Defense Staff General NS Raj Subramani, Delhi Police Commissioner Rajiv Ranjan, Lt Gen Rajeev Puri and Union Minister Piyush Goyal being circulated to spread fake news. It provided links to the original
The fact-checking unit launched by the Government of India PIB in November 2019 to counter fake news, rumors and misleading claims has clarified that the videos of Dharmendra Pradhan, NS General Raj Subramani, Rajiv Ranjan, Rajeev Puri and Piyush Goyal are fake and created by artificial intelligence and digitally altered. The original videos are attached to these posts as proof.
PIB’s latest fact-checking post was shared on Saturday. In the deepfake video, Dharmendra Pradhan claims that he is “resigning from his post” due to “personal reasons”.
In another doctored video, General NS Raja Subramani claims that 30,000 army jawans have resigned due to protests at Jantar Mantar. The unit flagged this doctored video and advised citizens to report any misleading or manipulated content to +91 87997 11259 or email factcheck@pib.gov.in.
