NEW DELHI: As AI-generated videos "featuring" Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das circulate online claiming to offer investment advice, the government on Friday issued a clarification through PIB Fact Check stating that the clips are fake and digitally altered.
According to PIB, the videos falsely portray senior leaders as endorsing private platforms that promise “guaranteed profits”, including claims that an investment of around Rs. 21,000 can yield returns up to Rs. 25 lakhs. "Before you invest your money, understand the truth behind such promotional content," it urged while sharing a awareness video.
In the video a woman explains how the "investment advice" clips use AI tools to make the promotions appear authentic. "The person's real voice is copied and then used to deliver a fake message. Their lip movements are digitally matched with the new audio so that it looks natural. This is done to mislead people into believing that well known leaders are promoting investment schemes," as explained in the video.
"All these videos are fake and have been digitally altered," reiterated the video. PIB cautioned users against clicking or sharing links attached to such messages. The explainer notes that scammers present the amount sought as an investment rather than a fee to build credibility and mislead users.
PIB has urged citizens to avoid sharing unverified content and to report suspicious links and videos to its fact-checking unit for verification. A similar warning was issued few days back as well with PIB stating that a video of Sitharaman promoting an "investment scheme" was fake.
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