Deepfake Videos Falsely Show Indian Finance Minister Endorsing Investment Scam
Deepfake videos using AI technology were spread on Facebook falsely showing India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman endorsing fraudulent investment platforms promising unrealistic returns. The Press Information Bureau's Fact Check team officially identified the videos as digitally altered scams and warned the public not to trust the schemes.
What happened
Deepfake videos circulating on Facebook falsely show Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman endorsing investment schemes promising returns as high as 3x per day or 100x per month from initial investments of Rs 21,000 to Rs 22,000.
One video falsely depicts Sitharaman promoting the 'QuantumAI' investment platform, while another shows her in an interview claiming investors can make Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh monthly. The videos also contain false claims attributing support to business leaders Narayana Murthy and Mukesh Ambani.
Reported impact
The Press Information Bureau's Fact Check team identified the videos as digitally altered using AI tools designed to deceive the public and steal money by misusing the minister's image and voice.
Index analysis
The scam exploits artificial intelligence to create synthetic videos with realistic-looking deepfakes, combining video manipulation with voice cloning to impersonate a government official and falsely endorse fraudulent investment schemes.
Governance controls
The PIB Fact Check division debunked the videos and clarified that no such government schemes exist and that the Finance Minister has not launched or endorsed any such programs.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.