#FactCheck -AI-Generated Video Falsely Shows Sachin Tendulkar Promoting Investment Scheme
Research Wing
Innovation and Research
PUBLISHED ON
May 12, 2026
10
Executive Summary
A video featuring former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar is being widely circulated on social media with the date “12-5-2026” displayed on the screen. In the viral clip, Tendulkar appears to promote an investment scheme, allegedly saying that people investing in the scheme today could earn Rs 80 lakh by the end of the day. Throughout the video, he is seen speaking about investment opportunities and financial returns. However, research conducted by CyberPeace Research Wing found that the video is AI-generated and misleading. The original footage was actually from an event marking the centenary celebrations of Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
Claim
A Facebook user shared the viral video on May 12, 2026, claiming that Sachin Tendulkar was endorsing a high-return investment scheme. The post quickly gained traction on social media platforms.
To verify the claim, we searched the internet using relevant keywords but found no credible media reports suggesting that Tendulkar had endorsed any such investment scheme. As part of our research, we extracted key frames from the viral clip and conducted a reverse image search. During the search, we found the original video uploaded on November 19, 2025, on the YouTube channel of IANS. According to the video description, Tendulkar was attending an event organized to mark the centenary year celebrations of Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
We further found a similar version of the same video uploaded on November 19, 2025, on the official Facebook page of Times Now, confirming that the footage was unrelated to any investment or financial scheme.
Our research found that the viral video has been manipulated using AI-generated audio or editing techniques to falsely portray Sachin Tendulkar promoting an investment scheme. The original video was from a public event related to Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s centenary celebrations and had no connection to any financial investment platform.
Executive Summary After Donald Trump said that US Navy ships would soon begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, several old images resurfaced on social media with claims that they show American sailors recently captured by Iran amid the ongoing Middle East tensions. Research by CyberPeace found that the viral posts are misleading. The images being circulated are nearly a decade old and have no connection to the ongoing situation in the Middle East.
Claim:
Posts circulating on Facebook alleged that Iran had captured 10 US Navy personnel — nine men and one woman — and detained them at a military base on Farsi Island. The caption further claimed that the incident was reported by Iranian official Ali Larijani and denied by Donald Trump.
A reverse image search revealed that the viral images are not recent. They were published as early as January 13, 2016, by ABC News in a report titled “Iran Releases 10 Navy Sailors Held After Drifting Into Iranian Waters.”
Further checks showed that the same images were distributed by AFP, with credits to Sepah News, the media wing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Context
The images relate to a 2016 incident in which two US Navy patrol boats accidentally entered Iranian waters. The crew was detained and taken to Farsi Island. Iran later released the sailors after determining that the intrusion was unintentional and that there was no hostile intent.
Conclusion
The viral posts are misleading. The images being shared are nearly a decade old and unrelated to the ongoing situation in the Middle East.
It’s a proud moment for Indians that India will host the G- 20 administration, which will bring the world’s 20 largest profitable nations together on a single platform during the post-economic recovery and the Russia- Ukraine conflict, which has increased geopolitical pressures among nations over the last many times and made the G- 20 a precedence of nations. With this administration, India has to make cybersecurity precedence, as the security and integrity of the critical structure and digital platforms are top precedence in 2023. The necessity for a secure cyberspace is pivotal given the exponential increase in the volume and kind of cyber-attacks, particularly to crucial structures the most recent illustration is the ongoing interruption at New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical lores caused by a ransomware assault. It has been observed that the mode of attacks are more sophisticated and targets communication structure, critical structure, transport systems, and especially the information technology sector and fiscal system.
The structure that enables the delivery of government services to be more effective. As a result,cyber-secured critical structures and digital public forums are necessary for public security, bettered governance, and, most importantly, maintaining people’s trust. The G20 can be enhanced and contribute towards securing digital public platforms and the integrity of the critical structure. This time, in 2023, digital security is the top precedence.
G20 cybersecurity enterprises and politic sweat
The emphasis on cybersecurity was maintained throughout the Italian and Indonesian regulations in 2021 and 2022, independently, by emphasizing the significance of cyberspace during Digital Economy Working Group addresses. Specifically, under the Indonesian Presidency, the prominent cybersecurity focus was clear in the recent Bali Leaders’ protestation, which noted, among other effects, the significance of fighting misinformation juggernauts and cyber attacks, as well as guaranteeing connectivity structure security. The cyber incident report by the Financial Stability Board on carrying further uniformity in cyber incident reporting In 2016, a G20 digital task force was created under the Chinese administration to understand digital technology issues. Under the Saudi administration, the cybersecurity gap at the G20 was bridged by addressing the issues of MSMs. India has also refocused on the significance of creating secure, secure, and stronger-friendly digital platforms.
G20- India’s digital invention alliance( G-20-DIA) a cyber-secure Bharat
Under India’s administration, the G20’s Digital Economy Working Group is led by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology( MeitY, DEWG).
The Ministry concentrated on three major areas during India’s G20 administration digital skill development, digital public structure, and cyber security.
The EWG’s DIA and Stay Safe Online enterprise further the ideal of lesser digital metamorphosis by guaranteeing a safe and creative cyber terrain. They want to offer a smooth and secure delivery of public services.
The G20 Digital Innovation Alliance
(G20- DIA) strives to find, admit, and encourage the relinquishment of innovative and poignant digital technologies produced by invited G20 startups and-member governments.
These technologies must meet humanity’s conditions in six crucial areas husbandry, health, education, finance, secure digital structure, and indirect frugality.
The inventions created around these motifs will be supported by the Digital Public Goods structure, allowing them to be espoused encyclopedically, closing the digital gap and icing sustainable and indifferent growth.
The G20 Digital Innovation Alliance( G20- DIA) conference will be held on the perimeters of the Digital Economy Working Group( DEWG) meeting in Bengaluru.
Top-nominated entrepreneurs from each order will present their ideas to a worldwide community of investors, instructors, pots, and other stakeholders at this event.
India’s” Stay Safe Online crusade”
The” Stay Safe Online” crusade attempts to raise mindfulness about the significance of remaining safe in the online world amid our adding reliance on it. With the fast expansion of the technical terrain and the growing number of internet druggies in India, new difficulties are arising. The Stay Safe Online crusade aims to educate individuals about cyber pitfalls and how to avoid them. The time-long crusade will target children, women, scholars, and aged citizens, as well as individuals with disabilities, preceptors, and government officers in particular. It’ll be done in Hindi, English, and indigenous languages to reach a larger followership. It’ll distribute mindfulness information in infographics, short pictures, cartoon stories, and so on through extensively employed social media platforms and other channels. The primary stakeholders will be government agencies, civil societies, and NGOs.
Conclusion
To wind up, it can be said that cyber security has become the most essential part of transnational affairs. As India hosts the G20 administration in 2023, the docket relating to cybersecurity gains a global stage, where cyber-related issues are addressed and honored encyclopedically, and nations can combat these issues; also, India aims to raise cyber mindfulness among its citizens.
Governments worldwide are enacting cybersecurity laws to enhance resilience and secure cyberspace against growing threats like data breaches, cyber espionage, and state-sponsored attacks in the digital landscape. As a response, the EU Council has been working on adopting new laws and regulations under its EU Cybersecurity Package- a framework to enhance cybersecurity capacities across the EU to protect critical infrastructure, businesses, and citizens. Recently, the Cyber Solidarity Act was adopted by the Council, which aims to improve coordination among EU member states for increased cyber resilience. Since regulations in the EU play a significant role in shaping the global regulatory environment, it is important to keep an eye on such developments.
Overview of the Cyber Solidarity Act
The Act sets up a European Cyber Security Alert System consisting of Cross-Border Cyber Hubs across Europe to collect intelligence and act on cyber threats by leveraging emerging technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and advanced data analytics to share warnings on cyber threats with other cyber data centres across the national borders of the EU. This is expected to assist authorities in responding to cyber threats and incidents more quickly and effectively.
Further, it provides for the creation of a new Cybersecurity Emergency Mechanism to enhance incident response systems in the EU. This will include testing the vulnerabilities in critical sectors like transport, energy, healthcare, finance, etc., and creating a reserve of private parties to provide mutual technical assistance for incident response requests from EU member-states or associated third countries of the Digital Europe Programme in case of a large-scale incident.
Finally, it also provides for the establishment of a European Cybersecurity Incident Review Mechanism to monitor the impact of the measures under this law.
Key Themes
Greater Integration: The success of this Act depends on the quality of cooperation and interoperability between various governmental stakeholders across defence, diplomacy, etc. with regard to data formats, taxonomy, data handling and data analytics tools. For example, Cross-Border Cyber Hubs are mandated to take the interoperability guidelines set by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) as a starting point for information-sharing principles with each other.
Public-Private Collaboration: The Act provides a framework to govern relationships between stakeholders such as the public sector, the private sector, academia, civil society and the media, identifying that public-private collaboration is crucial for strengthing EUs cyber resilience. In this regard, National Cyber Hubs are proposed to carry out the strengthening of information sharing between public and private entities.
Centralized Regulation: The Act aims to strengthen all of the EU's cyber solidarity by outlining dedicated infrastructure for improved coordination and intelligence-sharing regarding cyber events among member states. Equal matching contribution for procuring the tools, infrastructure and services is to be made by each selected member state and the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre, a body tasked with funding cybersecurity projects in the EU.
Setting a Global Standard: The underlying rationale behind strengthening cybersecurity in the EU is not just to protect EU citizens from cyber-threats to their fundamental rights but also to drive norms for world-class standards for cybersecurity for essential and critical services, an initiative several countries rely on.
Conclusion
In the current digital landscape, governments, businesses, critical sectors and people are increasingly interconnected through information and network connection systems and are using emerging technologies like AI, exposing them to multidimensional vulnerabilities in cyberspace. The EU in this regard continues to be a leader in setting standards for the safety of participants in the digital arena through regulations regarding cybersecurity. The Cyber Solidarity Act’s design including cross-border cooperation, public-private collaboration, and proactive incident-monitoring and response sets a precedent for a unified approach to cybersecurity. As the EU’s Cybersecurity Package continues to evolve, it will play a crucial role in ensuring a secure and resilient digital future for all.
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