#FactCheck - Debunked: AI-Edited Video Falsely Depicts Hon'ble President of India Endorsing Diabetes Medication
Research Wing
Innovation and Research
PUBLISHED ON
May 9, 2024
10
Executive Summary:
A video clip being circulated on social media allegedly shows the Hon’ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, the TV anchor Anjana Om Kashyap and the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Yogi Adityanath promoting a medicine for diabetes. While The CyberPeace Research Team did a thorough investigation, the claim was found to be not true. The video was digitally edited, with original footage of the heavy weight persons being altered to falsely suggest their endorsement of the medication. Specific discrepancies were found in the lip movements and context of the clips which indicated AI Manipulation. Additionally, the distinguished persons featured in the video were actually discussing unrelated topics in their original footage. Therefore, the claim that the video shows endorsements of a diabetes drug by such heavy weights is debunked. The conclusion drawn from the analysis is that the video is an AI creation and does not reflect any genuine promotion. Furthermore, it's also detected by AI voice detection tools.
Claims:
A video making the rounds on social media purporting to show the Hon'ble President of India, Smt. Draupadi Murmu, TV anchor Anjana Om Kashyap, and Hon'ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanath giving their endorsement to a diabetes medicine.
Upon receiving the post we carefully watched the video and certainly found some discrepancies between lip synchronization and the word that we can hear. Also the voice of Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanath seems to be suspicious which clearly indicates some sign of fabrication. In the video, we can hear Hon'ble President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu endorses a medicine that cured her diabetes. We then divided the video into keyframes, and reverse-searched one of the frames of the video. We landed on a video uploaded by Aaj Tak on their official YouTube Channel.
We found something similar to the same viral video, we can see the courtesy written as Sansad TV. Taking a cue from this we did some keyword searches and found another video uploaded by the YouTube Channel Sansad TV. In this video, we found no mention of any diabetes medicine. It was actually the Swearing in Ceremony of the Hon’ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu.
In the second part, there was a man addressed as Dr. Abhinash Mishra who allegedly invented the medicine that cures diabetes. We reverse-searched the image of that person and landed at a CNBC news website where the same face was identified as Dr Atul Gawande who is a professor at Harvard School of Public Health. We watched the video and found no sign of endorsing or talking about any diabetes medicine he invented.
We also extracted the audio from the viral video and analyzed it using the AI audio detection tool named Eleven Labs, which found the audio very likely to be created using the AI Voice generation tool with the probability of 98%.
Hence, the Claim made in the viral video is false and misleading. The Video is digitally edited using different clips and the audio is generated using the AI Voice creation tool to mislead netizens. It is worth noting that we have previously debunked such voice-altered news with bogus claims.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the viral video claiming that Hon'ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanath promoted a diabetes medicine that cured their diabetes, is found to be false. Upon thorough investigation it was found that the video is digitally edited from different clips, the clip of Hon'ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu is taken from the clip of Oath Taking Ceremony of 15th President of India and the claimed doctor Abhinash Mishra whose video was found in CNBC News Outlet. The real name of the person is Dr. Atul Gawande who is a professor at Harvard School of Public Health. Online users must be careful while receiving such posts and should verify before sharing them with others.
Claim: A video is being circulated on social media claiming to show distinguished individuals promoting a particular medicine for diabetes treatment.
A video is being widely circulated on social media by Pakistani users as propaganda against the Indian Army. In the video, a man can be seen being beaten by a group of women in the middle of a road. Based on the viral video, it is being claimed that in Phuket, Thailand, Lieutenant General Rajiv Kiran Sahni, DG EME of the Indian Army, was thrashed by "ladyboys" after he allegedly harassed them and refused to pay the full amount.
Research by the CyberPeace Research Wing found the viral claim to be misleading and baseless. The viral video has no connection with Lieutenant General Rajiv Kiran Sahni (DG EME) of the Indian Army. According to credible media reports obtained during the research, this incident took place in Pattaya, Thailand, in December 2025, where a dispute over payment allegedly broke out between an Indian tourist named Raj Jasuja and some transgender women (ladyboys). Subsequently, the tourist was assaulted.
Claim:
A Pakistani website shared the viral video claiming that Indian Army Lieutenant General Rajiv Kiran Sahni (DG EME) was publicly thrashed in Phuket, Thailand, by ladyboys after he harassed them and refused to pay the full amount.
Meanwhile, on the social site X (formerly Twitter), a user shared the viral video and wrote, “Indian Army Lt Gen Rajiv Kiran Sahni, DG EME, thrashed by Thai ladyboys in Phuket after harassing them and refusing to pay full amount. They think they can bully and oppress people everywhere like Christians in Manipur, but Thailand showed them the reality.”
To investigate the claim made with the viral video, we conducted a reverse search of the video's keyframes. During this process, we found a report by The Times of India. The report, published on January 4, 2026, stated that “According to 'The Thaiger', an Indian tourist was hospitalized in Pattaya, Thailand. It is alleged that a group of transgender women attacked him following a dispute over payment for escort services. The incident occurred on December 27, when rescue workers from the Sawang Boriboon Foundation received a call around 5:30 AM regarding an injured foreign tourist near the beachside entrance of Walking Street. According to the rescue workers who found the victim, he was identified as 52-year-old Indian national Raj Jasuja. Injury marks were clearly visible on his face and the back of his head. He was given first aid before being taken to the hospital for further treatment. A 19-year-old Thai witness, Pongpol Boonchid, told police and rescue workers that the fight began when Raj was seen arguing with a transgender sex worker near the entry gate of Walking Street. The row escalated as both began chasing and hitting each other. According to the witness, the transgender woman then called several of her friends, who arrived and collectively attacked the Indian tourist. It is believed the fight started over money, as the tourist reportedly did not pay the full amount agreed upon for the services. Raj has not made any public statement regarding the incident.”
Furthermore, another report by The Indian Express, published on January 5, 2026, stated regarding the incident: “A group of transgender women allegedly beat up an Indian tourist in Pattaya, Thailand, according to a local media report. The dispute reportedly arose over non-payment of fees for sex services. In a viral video from December 27, three transgender women are seen hitting the 52-year-old man with slippers. The situation worsened when the man refused to pay the requested amount and tried to leave the spot in a car. The transgender women accused the man of not paying. Subsequently, he was allegedly kicked and punched, after which emergency responders intervened. According to a report by 'The Thaiger', the man suffered injuries to his face and the back of his head. He was given first aid on the spot and later taken to Pattamaku Hospital for further treatment. A Thai eyewitness told rescue workers that he saw the man arguing with a transgender sex worker near the entrance of the famous 'Walking Street' area. The witness stated that the argument turned into a physical altercation, with both parties reportedly chasing and hitting each other, after which others joined in, turning it into a group attack. According to the report, the witness further claimed the dispute occurred because the Indian tourist allegedly did not pay the full amount fixed for sexual services. Thai police said they would ask the man to file a formal complaint once he fully recovers.”
Our research found the viral claim to be misleading and baseless. The viral video has no connection with Lieutenant General Rajiv Kiran Sahni (DG EME) of the Indian Army. According to credible media reports, the incident occurred in Pattaya, Thailand, where in December 2025, an Indian tourist named Raj Jasuja had a dispute over payment with some transgender women (ladyboys), leading to the assault.
A post claiming that former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar praised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and urged people to elect him as Prime Minister is being widely circulated on social media.The viral poster falsely attributes a political statement to Sachin Tendulkar, suggesting that he has endorsed Rahul Gandhi for the post of Prime Minister. However, CyberPeace Research Wing research found the claim to be fake. Sachin Tendulkar has not made any such appeal or statement supporting Rahul Gandhi for Prime Minister.
Claim
On X (formerly Twitter), a verified user “Queen” shared a viral poster claiming:“Sachin Tendulkar has always supported education and never promoted superstition. Rahul Gandhi always predicts what Narendra Modi will do next. It is time to choose Rahul Gandhi again.”
To verify the claim, we first searched for any news reports, interviews, or credible references linking Sachin Tendulkar to such a political statement. However, we found no evidence in any reliable media source or public record suggesting that he made any such remark about Rahul Gandhi or the Prime Ministership. We also reviewed Sachin Tendulkar’s official social media accounts, but found no post, video, or statement endorsing any political leader in this manner.
Finally, the viral poster was analysed using the AI detection tool Hive Moderation. The analysis indicated a 96.8% probability that the poster was digitally created or manipulated, suggesting possible AI-generated or edited content.
Conclusion
CyberPeace Research Wing research found the claim to be fake. Sachin Tendulkar has not made any appeal to elect Rahul Gandhi as Prime Minister. The viral poster appears to be digitally fabricated and is being shared to spread misinformation.
The trajectory of India's digital economy is growing at an unprecedented rate, and so is India's cybercrime ecosystem. Parliamentary data tabled before the Rajya Sabha in May 2024 by the MHA suggests an overwhelming 900% growth in cybercrime complaints from 2021 to '25, while annual losses crossed 22,800 crore in 2024. The structural issues like the low victim restitution rate, the lack of forensic infrastructure, issues of jurisdiction related to offshore fraud factories targeting Indian citizens, and the huge disparity in awareness levels amongst India's youngest online citizens continue to exist. This brief brings out the clear trends in cybercrime, the role of institutional mechanisms in its prevention and response, failure points, and recommends appropriate policy interventions from the perspective of CyberPeace.
The Data Imperative
Since its operationalisation in 2019 by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), the NCRP serves as India's most significant institutional apparatus for cybercrime reporting and response. Data placed before the Rajya Sabha by the Ministry of Home Affairs on 30 July 2025 show that, with almost no exception, complaints of cybercrime have increased far more quickly than most traditional indicators of public safety. Between 2021 and June 2025, the NCRP received 6.59 million complaints, evidence of both a sustained and escalating expansion of India's cyber threat profile. Complaints per year more than quadrupled from 4.52 lakh in 2021 to 19.18 lakh in 2024 (324% over the period); by 2025, the NCRP had received 28.15 lakh complaints, a 523 percent rise compared with the 2021 baseline:
Clearly, cyber-enabled crime is no longer an occasional crisis but a systemic governance issue requiring consistent regulation and institution-building.
The financial fallout has also accelerated dramatically. Figures indicate that reported financial losses due to cybercrime jumped from 2,290 crore in 2022 to 22,812 crore in 2024 a 895% leap in two years:
Though response mechanisms such as the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS) successfully blocked or recovered close to 8,690 crore as of January 2026, victims appear to get back only about 2.18 percent of the losses they report.
In most areas, reporting and response have expanded greatly, but both the rate and scale of cyber-enabled financial fraud continue to outstrip India's remediation and law enforcement capacity.
Threat Typology of India’s Fraud Ecosystem
The nature of cyber crime in India has evolved from an opportunistic volume-based activity to a layered transnational criminal environment. I4C intelligence as tabled in Parliament reveals investment scams as the biggest threat: they accounted for 76% of the financial fraud lost in 2025 (although only 35% of complaints were filed, thus, a very high value per case was lost).
Digital arrest frauds, which tap on citizens' unawareness that "digital arrest" is not permissible under Indian law, rose from 39,925 cases (91 crore) in 2022 to 123,672 cases (1,935crore) in 2024.
The fast rise in the number of incidents as well as in the volume of fraud clearly points out that digital arrest fraud has moved away from the phase of novel scam typology to a formidable cyber-extortion landscape. The main orchestrators of investment, trading, dating, and digital arrest scams targeting Indian citizens were recently identified by the I4C CEO Rajesh Kumar as transnational criminal scam networks in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos. Hence, this issue does not only fall within the domain of domestic law enforcement but constitutes a transnational cybercrime requiring parallel financial intelligence, diplomatic initiative, platform responsibility, and international investigative collaboration.
Geographic Concentration
Maharashtra and UP register the highest volumes in total complaints at 3.03 lakh and 3.01 lakh, owing to them being the financial capital and most populous state, respectively. Karnataka, Gujarat, Delhi, WB, Telangana, TN, Rajasthan, and Haryana register above 1 lakh complaints each. However, the critical information that is being missed is that while complaint rate growth is the fastest in Tier 2 and 3 geographies (Haryana leads per-capita complaint rate with 381/100k people in 2023; Telangana (261); Uttarakhand (243)), this signifies rural digital growth as a risk multiplier.
Institutional Architecture: Mechanisms and Performances
India's institutional response to cybercrime, led by the Ministry of Home Affairs' Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), is one of the world's largest real-time fraud detection and prevention ecosystems. The backbone of this is the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS), which has onboarded over 700 banks, payment service providers, e-commerce portals, digital wallets, and, since the Standard Operating Procedure was issued on 2nd January 2026, virtual asset service providers and crypto exchanges. This interconnected network allows for prompt freezing of funds and timely fraud intervention during the 'golden hour' of a cybercrime report.
Institutional capacity is robust, with approximately 8,690 crore saved via the CFCFRMS since its inception for over 24.65 lakh complaints. The national cybercrime helpline (1930) receives close to 10,000 calls daily, while the Suspect Registry has enabled the rejection of 9,519 crore via the detection of 23.05 lakh suspect entities and 27.37 lakh mule accounts. In parallel, the CyTrain platform has expanded training by registering 151,081 police and judicial officers and issuing 142,025 certificates. Cyberforensic labs in all 33 States and Union Territories have received central assistance totalling 132.93 crore, and data-driven interstate crime analytics and offender linkages through the Samanvaya and Pratibimb platforms have led to 21,857 arrests.
Ecosystem Gaps
Through I4C, CFCFRMS, CyTrain, and the establishment of forensic infrastructure in states, India’s cybercrime ecosystem has greatly grown. But due to the rapid proliferation of cybercrime, systemic shortcomings are revealed regarding the restoration of victims, investigation, forensic capacity, cross-border enforcement, awareness, and stakeholder coordination:
Victim Restitution Deficit: Although the total of ₹ 8,690 crore frozen has increased, the refund for victim compensation is limited to only ₹ 167 crore (2.18%) due to lengthy restoration processes relying on court orders.
Forensic Capacity Limitations: 2 national, state-level, unevenly equipped cyber forensic labs can’t match the needs of over 10 million cybercrime complaints per year.
Low conviction rate: The investigations of cybercrimes suffer from evidence collection and criminal proceedings, leading to limited conviction rates.
Cross-border enforcement challenges: Many of the investment and digital arrest scams, in fact, are originating from Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos, rendering the cybercrime response mechanisms of India helpless.
Lack of Awareness: First-time digital users are quite prone to online scams and fraud, and many of the victims continue not reporting due to social stigma and lack of confidence.
Partial Stakeholder Integration: Banks and small financial institutions, small companies, and emerging virtual asset providers not yet on board allow the money to slip through without being tracked.
CyberPeace Insights: Strategic Way Forward
India has already built a relatively mature response structure for cybercrime with I4C, CFCFRMS, and CyTrain and is coordinating the financial sector on it. The way ahead lies in outcome-oriented improvements and not just in the ability to report and intercept more. Here are the priority interventions that address the most important institutional shortcomings identified in the current ecosystem:
Fast-track victim restoration: Introduce time-bound victim restoration mechanisms for low-value incidents through simplified processes and mandate national-level roll-out of successful Lok Adalat-based settlement mechanisms.
District-level cyber forensics: Establish cyber forensic support units at the district level and enhance access to mobile, cloud, and blockchain forensic capabilities.
AI-powered fraud prevention: Mandate deep-fake and voice-clone detection mechanisms across all financial institutions and telecom networks; embed predictive risk analytics into transaction screening frameworks.
Cyber Suraksha Gram initiative: Increase digital fraud awareness across all common service centres, Jan Dhan enrollment schemes, and rural banking channels, and tackle the awareness asymmetry.
Regional cybercrime coordination: Establish real-time, operational intelligence-sharing mechanisms with Southeast Asian economies, which have become home to large scam networks preying on Indian citizens.
Specialised cyber prosecution ecosystem: Develop exclusive cyber courts, standardise digital evidence procedures, and broaden the scope of CyTrain to include the development of specialised cadres of investigators and prosecutors capable of handling increasingly complex cybercrime cases.
Conclusion
The 22,812 crore lost due to cybercrime in 2024 was more than a mere figure; it signifies a serious concern regarding citizen trust, economic security, and digital inclusion. Though India's institutional response to cybercrime is one of the largest, with an operational I4C and a CFCFRMS functioning in real time, the victim compensation and prosecution mechanism falls short. It's time for implementation: faster recovery of resources, increased enforcement, a larger scale of awareness, and finally, translating the institutional innovations into concrete justice for victims nationwide.
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