Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
An advertisement for the Congress party shows actor Aamir Khan warning against ‘Jumlas’.
Fact
The audio of an old video promo of Satyamev Jayate has been digitally edited to falsely show Khan supporting the Congress.
A video allegedly showing actor Aamir Khan warning against ‘Jumlas’ is being widely circulated on social media platforms in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.
In the 31-second-long-video, Khan can be heard saying in Hindi, “Friends, if you think that India is a poor country, then you are absolutely wrong. Because every citizen in the country is a lakhpati. Everyone should at least have Rs 15 lakhs…. What did you say? You don’t have this amount? So where are your Rs 15 lakhs? Be careful of Jumla promises.”
The end frame of the video features an image of the Congress’ party symbol, with a text saying ‘Vote For Nyay, Vote For Congress.’ The same is heard in the background audio.
Multiple X users shared the video with a Hindi caption, claiming, “Every citizen of India is a lakhpati Because everyone should have at least 15 lakhs… What did you say? You don’t have 15 lakhs in your account.. So where did your 15 lakhs go??? So be careful with such jumlebaaz. Otherwise it will be your loss…”
Archived versions of such posts can be seen here, here, and here.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has time and again attacked PM Narendra Modi over his alleged promise to deposit Rs 15 lakh in everyone’s back account. Such reports can be seen here, here and here.
Also Read: Lok Sabha Polls- I.N.D.I Bloc Leading In 10 States? No, Viral Newspaper Cutting Is Fabricated
Fact Check/Verification
We inspected the video, and noticed that Khan’s lip movement was not in-sync with the audio.
On carefully analysing the video, we could hear the words “Satyamev Jayate” in the last few seconds of the clip. Additionally, the background music heard in the video is also identical to the musical theme of Satyamev Jayate, a TV show hosted by actor Aamir Khan.
Taking a clue, we skimmed through the official YouTube channel of Satyamev Jayate and found a similar video of Khan standing near a railing in the same attire. The video titled, “Satyamev Jayate Ep 4 Promo – Each Indian is entitled to one crore!,” was uploaded on the channel on August 30, 2016.
After comparing the keyframes of the viral video with the Satyamev Jayate promo, we found both the visuals to be identical.
However, the audio heard in the promo video was not the same as the one heard in the viral footage.
In the video, the actor is heard saying in Hindi, “Friends, if you think that India is a poor country, then you are absolutely wrong. Because every citizen of the country is a crorepati. Everyone should have at least Rs 1 crore…. What did you say? You don’t have this sum? So where are your Rs 1 crore? You’ll get to know this Sunday.”
This led us to conclude that the audio in the viral clip has been digitally altered to falsely show Aamir Khan warning against ‘Jumlas’
Also Read: Congress Did Not Field Candidates From Arunachal Fearing China? False Claim Goes Viral
A YouTube link to the promo was also shared on Satyamev Jayate’s official X account on March 23, 2014. Though the video was not in the link, the thumbnail of the same was identical to the keyframe of the promo video uploaded on YouTube in 2016.
The video was also uploaded on the official website of Satyamev Jayate as a promo of an episode titled ‘Kings Every Day.’
The full episode titled ‘Kings Every Day’ was uploaded on Satyamev Jayate’s YouTube channel on March 23, 2014. The description of the same read, “Casting a vote once in five years is not enough for a democracy to thrive; its citizens must ensure that they engage on a regular basis with the government system as participants. If eternal vigilance is the price of democracy, every citizen has the duty to assess its workings. Yet, most of us spend a significant amount of time criticizing the establishment instead of trying to change it.”
Khan has also released a statement through his official spokesperson clarifying that the actor has never endorsed any political party. Adding, “We are alarmed by the recent viral video alleging that Aamir Khan is promoting a particular political party. He would like to clarify that this is a fake video and totally untrue. He has reported the matter to various authorities related to this issue, including filing an FIR with the Cyber Crime Cell of the Mumbai Police. Mr. Khan would like to urge all Indians to come out and vote and be an active part of our electoral process.”
Also Read: Did Kerala Government Publish A Textbook With ‘Communal’ Content? Viral Claim Is False
The Deepfakes Analysis Unit (DAU) also examined the viral video of Aamir Khan and concluded that it has been manipulated using fake audio. They used TrueMedia’s deepfake detector, which categorised the video as “highly suspicious”. “It gave a seven percent confidence score to deepfake face detection, which means that the tool found very little evidence of the actor’s face having been recreated using generative A.I,” it stated.
Additionally, they also used the audio detection tool of AI or Not which concluded that the probability of the audio being AI generated was 60 percent.
Furthermore, the DAU shared the viral footage with the team of Dr. Hany Farid, a professor of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. “Dr. Farid’s team analysed the audio in a couple of ways including separating the music from the talking; they are confident that the voice in the audio track in this video is fake. They further added that it seemed like a case where the audio track was just swapped without even trying to sync it with mouth movements,” the report added.
Update : The fact check was updated on April 17, 2024 to include the findings of the Deepfakes Analysis Unit
Conclusion
We could thus conclude that the audio in trailer of an episode of Satyamev Jayate has been digitally edited to falsely show actor Aamir Khan warning against ‘jumlas,’ and supporting the Congress in upcoming elections.
Result: Altered Video
Sources
YouTube Video By Satyamev Jayate, Dated August 30, 2016
Satyamev Jayate Website
Report By DAU, Dated April 17, 2024
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Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
