Authors
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: Bollywood actor Aamir Khan seen endorsing Congress.
Fact: The viral video of Aamir Khan’s appeal to vote for Congress is manipulated using AI.
April 17 is the last day of the campaign before the 1st phase of Lok Sabha Polls, which will be held on April 19, 2024. Following this, a 28-second video clip of Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, campaigning for the Congress is circulating on social media.
In the video, the actor can be heard saying in Hindi, “Friends, in this election you have two types of guarantees, one is good and one is bad. The bad news is that once again they (BJP) make fake promises to ruin your life. But the good news is that now you have five Nyay (The guarantees of the Congress Party) to develop. Only the hand sign (The symbol of the Congress Party) can change this situation”.
Posting this video on Facebook one user wrote in Bangla, “Bollywood Megastar Aamir Khan, Mr. Perfectionist is also supporting five Nyay (The guarantees of the Congress Party)! Let’s embrace this momentum for change and vote for the National Congress for the progress of the country”.
Chandigarh Youth Congress also posted the video on their Facebook page on April 12. Archive versions of such posts can be seen here and here.
Fact Check/ Verification
Upon close examination of the viral video, it becomes apparent that Aamir Khan’s lip movements and facial expressions do not match the his speech. Also, at the 9-second mark, a red glowing graphic spot can be seen at the bottom of the video, Which usually can be seen in the video of Star Group. Aamir Khan used to host a talk show called ‘Satyamev Jayate’ on Star Plus, prompting us to check the trailers of the show.
We ran a keyword search on YouTube with the words ‘aamir khan satyamev jayate promo’ and found the same video uploaded on Satyamev Jayate’s official YouTube channel on 30 August 2016.
In that video, Aamir Khan can be heard saying, “Guys I have two news for you, one is good and one is bad. The bad news is that I will talk to you again on Sunday. But the good news is that I will only come for the next five Sundays. Every Sunday of March”.
In the original video, Aamir Khan is neither heard appealing to vote for Congress nor does he talk about ‘Nyay’.
The Deepfakes Analysis Unit (DAU), of The Misinformation Combat Alliance (MCA) of which Newschecker is a part, also ran the viral video through several deep fake detection tools and found that all of them concluded that the video was manipulated by artificial intelligence (AI).
An analysis by the Loccus AI tool, revealed that only 36.07 percent of the audio was authentic, casting doubt on whether the rest was synthesised using AI tech.
The audio was also verified using the Hive AI tool, which confirmed that Aamir Khan’s dialogue in the second part of the video had been altered or manipulated through AI.
Moreover, analysis conducted using the TrueMedia tool uncovered that the viral video featuring Aamir Khan’s appeal to vote for Congress was indeed edited using AI techniques.
Recently, Newschecker debunked another Deepfake video featuring Aamir Khan that gained traction on social media, which also showed the actor promoting Congress.
Conclusion
Thus it is safe to conclude that the viral video of Aamir Khan endorsing the Congress is edited or manipulated using AI.
Result: Altered Video
Source
Video by Satyamev Jayate, dated August 30, 2016
Authors
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.
