Authors
Sabloo Thomas has worked as a special correspondent with the Deccan Chronicle from 2011 to December 2019. Post-Deccan Chronicle, he freelanced for various websites and worked in the capacity of a translator as well (English to Malayalam and Malayalam to English). He’s also worked with the New Indian Express as a reporter, senior reporter, and principal correspondent. He joined Express in 2001.
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: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying she is not the one who get taxed but the one who taxes.
Fact: The audio is AI generated.
A video of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is going viral in which she is heard saying in the floor of the house, “No, you clearly don’t know who you are talking to right now. A guy earns some income and gets taxed and you think that of me? No, I am not the one who gets taxed. I am the one who taxes.”
One such post can be seen here.
The video and the audio seemed to be out of sync prompting us to fact check the video.
Also Read: AI Generated Photo Of Arvind Kejriwal With Elon Musk Shared Ahead Of Delhi Polls
Fact Check/Verification
On a reverse image search of the video, we found the video from the YouTube channel of the Bharatiya Janata Party on August 1,2022. The video was of the reply given by Nirmala Sitharaman on discussion under Rule 193 on price rise in Lok Sabha.
We then analysed the video and audio in True Media. Both showed “substantial evidence of manipulation.”
We also checked the video for AI generated content using the tool Hive moderation. The tool said that the audio has 99.6 percent Al- generated or deepfake content.
AI detection tool resembleai said that the audio was fake.
Also Read: Pankaj Tripathi’s UPI Ad Campaign Manipulated To Target The BJP Ahead Of Delhi Polls
Conclusion
Hence, the viral clip of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying that she is not the one who gets taxed but the one who taxes was found to have an AI generated audio.
Result: Altered Media
Sources
TrueMedia Website
Hive Website
Resemble website
YouTube Channel of Bharatiya Janata Party on August 1,2022
(Update On 20/12/2024: The headline, fact disclaimer and conclusion portions of this article have been changed to say ‘AI manipulated’ instead of ‘AI generated’ after internal review.)
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Authors
Sabloo Thomas has worked as a special correspondent with the Deccan Chronicle from 2011 to December 2019. Post-Deccan Chronicle, he freelanced for various websites and worked in the capacity of a translator as well (English to Malayalam and Malayalam to English). He’s also worked with the New Indian Express as a reporter, senior reporter, and principal correspondent. He joined Express in 2001.
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.
