Fact Check: Video of Modi wearing skull cap is AI-generated
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Investigation into Fake Video of PM Modi Wearing Skull Cap and Offering Namaz
New Delhi: A video recently circulated on social media claimed to show Prime Minister Narendra Modi wearing a white skull cap and offering namaz during the month of Ramazan. However, the PTI Fact Check Desk investigation found the video to be fake.
The AI-generated video was shared on social media with a false claim. An Instagram user going by the name ‘Danish Rana’ shared a video on 7 March that allegedly showed Modi wearing a skull cap and performing a religious prayer. The video (which, when posting this article, had received 47,873 likes) also appeared to show the Prime Minister reciting a prayer.
The Desk ran the viral video through the InVid tool and extracted multiple keyframes. Upon running one of the keyframes through Google Lens, it was found that various users had shared the same video with similar claims. Two such posts can be found here and here, with their archived versions available here and here, respectively.
In the next part of the investigation, we carefully analysed the viral video and found multiple indicators suggesting the footage was AI-generated. For instance, the background in the video appeared visibly blurred, and the beard added to the person (purportedly PM Modi) seen in the third frame appeared fake. Further, other significant details related to the person’s physical appearance in the viral video differed across all three frames.
Next, taking cues from the above-generated inputs, we ran the viral video through ‘Hive Moderation,’ an AI detection tool suggesting a substantial presence of AI-generated or deepfake content. Additionally, we separately ran the keyframes generated from the video above through ‘Was It AI,’ another AI detection tool, which also confirmed that a significant part of them was created by AI.
Subsequently, it was concluded that the video showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi wearing a skull cap and performing a religious prayer was AI-generated. Multiple social media users recently shared a video claiming it showed PM Modi wearing an Islamic skull cap and performing religious prayers during Ramadan. However, in its investigation, the Desk found the video to be AI-generated and shared on social media with a false claim.
This story was originally published by PTI Fact Check as part of the Shakti Collective. Apart from the headline, excerpt and introduction, this story has not been edited by ThePrint staff.