Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Ruby leads editorial, operations and initiatives at Newschecker. In her former avatar at New Delhi Television (NDTV), India’s leading national news network, she was a news anchor, supervising producer and senior output editor. Her over a decade-long career encompasses ground-breaking reportage from conflict zones and reporting on terror incidents, election campaigns, and gender issues. Ruby is an Emmy-nominated producer and has handled both local and international assignments, including the coverage of Arab Spring in 2011, the US Presidential elections in 2016, and ground reportage on the Kashmir issue since 2009.
It was barely a year ago when the digital landscape of Bollywood was forever altered. The Rashmika Mandanna deepfake video which went viral in late 2023 marked the beginning of a troubling era in India’s entertainment industry. This incident, where the actor’s face was superimposed onto a British influencer’s body using AI, was just the tip of the iceberg. Fast forward to today, a more insidious trend has emerged under the guise of “AI art”.
Numerous social media pages now showcase what they euphemistically promote as #AIart of Indian actresses such as those seen here and here. These images, far from being artistic, depict celebrities scantily clad— all without their consent. This development not only violates the privacy and dignity of these public figures but also exposes the dark side of AI technology’s misuse.
One such page, which has 32.9K followers – flagged to us by an actor’s team – features at least 85 AI-generated photos of various actresses from across industries, including Alia Bhatt, Kriti Sanon, Disha Patani, Tamannaah Bhatia, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Malavika Mohanan. Newschecker had earlier debunked two other deepfakes of Mandanna, along with another one of Kajol, posing in bikinis.
We decided to fact-check some of these images, which were found to be blatantly edited using AI, yet not declared as such.
Claim
Photos of Indian actresses Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Kiara Advani and Samantha Ruth Prabhu.
Fact
Image 1
Newschecker ran a reverse image search using the photo, which led us to this Vogue India article, dated September 27, 2024, on Alia Bhatt’s debut at Paris Fashion Week, where the actor sported a bold, metal-cast silver breastplate paired with black velvet flared trousers from Gaurav Gupta’s 2024 couture collection, Arunodaya. A comparison shows that the viral image was digitally altered. Gupta, too, shared the image on his Instagram account on September 24, 2024, while similar photos from the event were shared by Bhatt on Instagram.
We ran the image past TrueMedia, an AI content-detection tool, which found “substantial evidence of manipulation”. Another tool, Fake Image Detector, too, confirmed that the image was “computer generated or modified”.
Image 2
Newschecker ran a reverse image search, which led us to this Times of India photo feature on Kapoor Khan, dated August 13, 2024, sharing a similar image as part of the feature. We came across the same photo shared by Kapoor Khan on Instagram on April 30, 2024. A comparison confirms that the viral image was digitally altered.
We ran the image past TrueMedia, an AI content-detection tool, which found some evidence of manipulation. Another tool, Fake Image Detector, too, confirmed that the image was “computer generated or modified”.
Image 3
Newschecker ran a reverse image search, which led us to this photo shared by Advani on Instagram on October 16, 2024. A news report featuring the same photo can be seen here. A comparison shows that the viral image was digitally altered.
We ran the image past TrueMedia, an AI content-detection tool, which found “substantial evidence of manipulation”.
Image 4
Newschecker ran a reverse image search, which led us to this photo shared by the actor on Instagram on February 17, 2024. Similar articles featuring the same photo can be seen here and here. A comparison shows that the viral image was digitally altered.
We ran the image past TrueMedia, an AI content-detection tool, which found “substantial evidence of manipulation”. Another tool, Fake Image Detector, too, confirmed that the image was “computer generated or modified”.
Tamannah Bhatia’s team had reached out to us, pointing out an AI-manipulated image of the actor shared by the Instagram page, while sharing with us the original image.uploaded by her official account on September 4, 2024. A comparison shows that the viral image was digitally altered.
We ran the image past TrueMedia, an AI content-detection tool, which found “substantial evidence of manipulation”. Another tool, Fake Image Detector, too, confirmed that the image was “computer generated or modified”.
Shady Telegram Account Using Non-Consensual Images Of Actors As Clickbait
We first accessed this Instagram page on November 18 after receiving a complaint from the actor’s team. The page’s bio section featured a Telegram channel stating, “Only serious fellas DM. Verified P@aid Girl Free Group”.
We realised that these AI images of actors were being used to garner followers, who were eventually being led to a shady Telegram group, which was being used for the solicitation of virtual sexual favours.
The Telegram channel featured provocative and semi-nude content and openly sought subscribers to offer money for virtual sexual favours.
Interestingly, the bio was edited shortly after Newschecker started investigating the page, indicating an attempt to cover their tracks and manipulate their digital footprint.
The new Telegram channel linked to the page now features images of Indian actors that are not digitally manipulated and are available on public platforms.
Sources
Instagram photo, Gaurav Gupta, September 24, 2024
Instagram photo, Kareena Kapoor Khan, April 30, 2024
Instagram photo, Kiara Advani, October 16, 2024
Instagram photo, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, February 17, 2024
TrueMedia tool
Fake Image Detector tool
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Ruby leads editorial, operations and initiatives at Newschecker. In her former avatar at New Delhi Television (NDTV), India’s leading national news network, she was a news anchor, supervising producer and senior output editor. Her over a decade-long career encompasses ground-breaking reportage from conflict zones and reporting on terror incidents, election campaigns, and gender issues. Ruby is an Emmy-nominated producer and has handled both local and international assignments, including the coverage of Arab Spring in 2011, the US Presidential elections in 2016, and ground reportage on the Kashmir issue since 2009.
