#FactCheck-Bangladesh Video Falsely Shared as Security Forces Action During West Bengal Elections 2026

Executive Summary

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A video of an Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), handling the Americas & Canada Division, is being widely circulated on social media. The clip is being shared with the claim that he said:“Even if the Quad ends, India will partner only with Israel, and since Israel controls the US, India also controls the US.”The viral post attempts to link this alleged statement to India’s foreign policy. Many users are sharing it as authentic. However, CyberPeace Research Wing  research found the claim to be false. The video has been digitally altered, and no such statement was made by the official in the original briefing.

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Claim

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On social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the viral video is being shared with the claim that the MEA Additional Secretary said Israel controls the United States, and therefore India also controls the US.

• https://www.facebook.com/61562281661615/videos/1518036689691723/
• https://archive.ph/xGJHa#selection-967.0-978.0 

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Fact Check

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To verify the claim, we extracted key frames from the viral video and conducted a reverse image search. During the research, we found the original video, which was streamed live on May 26, 2026, on the verified YouTube channel of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), titled: “Special Briefing by MEA on Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting”

• https://www.youtube.com/live/jfeEiGimoig

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During the briefing, Naidu highlighted India’s commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region, mentioning new initiatives in maritime surveillance, critical minerals, and 6G development. He also noted the continued momentum of the Quad, stating that frequent ministerial meetings reflect strong and ongoing cooperation among member countries despite challenges in holding formal leaders’ summits.

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The official transcript of the briefing is also available on the MEA website:

• https://www.mea.gov.in/media-briefings.htm?dtl/41239/Transcript+of+Special+briefing+by+MEA+on+Quad+Foreign+Ministers+Meeting+May+26+2026 

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Since the viral statement was never made during the event, we further analysed the video using Deepfake Voice Detector and Hive Moderation’s AI-generated content detection tool. Hive moderation analysis indicated a 99.2% probability that the audio in the viral video is AI-generated.

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Conclusion

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CyberPeace Research Wing  research found that the viral video is digitally altered. The Additional Secretary did not make any such statement during the official briefing. The audio in the clip has been manipulated and is being circulated with a misleading narrative.

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Think about the difference between a video game and gambling the way most people were taught to understand it. A video game is something you play, maybe you spend money on it upfront, maybe you buy an expansion pack, but what you get in return is fixed and known. Gambling is different: you put money in, and what comes back is uncertain, decided by chance, with real financial stakes attached to the outcome. For decades, that distinction was reasonably clear. It no longer is.

Across a growing number of mobile games and gaming platforms, the two have started to blend into each other. Games increasingly include features where a player pays real money for a randomised reward, a mechanic structurally identical to a slot machine or a scratch card, just wrapped in animation, sound effects, and gaming language that makes it feel like part of the game rather than a bet. Because this trend targets an audience that skews young, and because it deliberately makes gambling like behaviour feel like ordinary play, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime recently flagged it as a serious and growing concern. Understanding exactly what is happening, and why it matters, starts with their warning.

What UNODC is actually warning about

The claim traces back to UNODC's July 2026 report, An Interconnected Criminal Ecosystem: Transnational Organised Crime Threat Assessment for Southeast Asia 2026. Delphine Schantz, UNODC's regional representative for South-East Asia and the Pacific, put the core problem plainly: the line between online gaming and online gambling is becoming increasingly blurred, and platforms have converged through design features that deliberately exploit that ambiguity. Online gaming, by definition, never required money changing hands. What the report documents is a shift where mobile accessibility, deliberately addictive design, and the introduction of real monetary stakes are pulling younger users into something that looks and feels like gaming but functions, mechanically, like gambling.

The report's most striking finding is not really about the games themselves. It is about what happens after. UNODC found that illegal online gambling platforms operating across the region do not simply extract money from young users; they generate a secondary population of indebted, criminally exposed young people who become vulnerable to recruitment into broader criminal networks, including debt collection operations, money mule schemes, and the scam compounds the report documents elsewhere. In other words, the gambling loss is often only the first harm. The debt it creates becomes the entry point into something considerably worse.

The mechanics of the convergence

This is not a vague, impressionistic claim. Academic researchers have spent close to a decade documenting the specific design features responsible for blurring gaming and gambling, and loot boxes sit at the centre of that research. A loot box is a purchasable in game item containing randomised rewards, structurally similar to a scratch card or a slot pull, wrapped in gaming aesthetics, animated reveal sequences, anticipation building sound design, that make the underlying mechanic easy to overlook. Researchers writing in Nature Human Behaviour as early as 2018 argued loot boxes are psychologically akin to gambling, and subsequent studies have consistently found meaningful associations between loot box engagement and problem gambling severity in young people. One widely cited cross sectional study estimated that between 16 and 21 percent of surveyed young people had engaged in gambling like video game practices at least once in the preceding year, and found that people who engaged in one such practice were highly likely to engage in several more, suggesting these mechanics function less as isolated features and more as an interconnected ecosystem designed to normalise wagering behaviour early.

What makes this genuinely difficult to regulate is precisely the ambiguity Schantz pointed to. A loot box does not always pay out in real currency; often the reward is a cosmetic item, a weapon skin, or in game currency that can then be resold or traded on secondary markets, creating real monetary value once removed from the platform that generated it. That one extra step, converting a virtual reward into tradeable value outside the game itself, has repeatedly let gambling like mechanics avoid classification under gambling law, even as researchers increasingly argue the psychological experience for the user is functionally identical. Regulators in several countries, including the UK, South Korea, and parts of Europe, have wrestled with exactly this classification problem for years, generally landing on disclosure requirements, probability labelling, and age restrictions rather than outright bans, an approach critics argue leaves the core mechanic intact while addressing only its edges.

The mobile phone has made all of this considerably harder to contain. Where gambling once required a physical location, an ID check, or at minimum a desktop browser, mobile gaming apps put the same monetised, chance based mechanics directly into a pocket, often accessible without any meaningful age verification beyond a self reported birth date a user can simply falsify. UNODC's own framing of "mobile access" as a driving factor is not incidental; it is arguably the single structural change that turned what was once a manageable regulatory grey zone into a rapidly scaling public health concern.

Why age matters so much here

Financial literacy research is fairly consistent on this point: the capacity to reason clearly about risk, probability, and long term financial consequence continues developing well into a person's twenties. Marketing a mechanic engineered around variable reward schedules, the same principle behind slot machine design, to an audience whose risk judgment is still forming is not an accident of overlapping demographics. It is, as UNODC's own language suggests, closer to a deliberate exploitation of that gap.

Where India fits into this picture

India has arguably moved further and faster on this exact concern than most jurisdictions. The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, alongside its accompanying 2026 Rules that came into force on 1 May 2026, drew a hard statutory line most countries have avoided: real money online games, including fantasy sports, rummy, poker, and online casino style platforms, are now categorically prohibited in India, not merely regulated. A newly created central regulator, the Online Gaming Authority of India, oversees a separate, permitted category for e-sports and social games, requiring registration, age gating, and grievance redressal mechanisms, while offshore and unregistered real money platforms are now explicitly illegal to operate or use, backed by bank freeze powers and potential prosecution of platform directors.

The government's own stated rationale mirrors UNODC's warning almost exactly. Lawmakers cited addiction and social harm linked to real money games, reports that Indian users lose close to 20,000 crore rupees annually on these platforms, concerns about money laundering and potential terror financing routed through gaming networks, and specifically flagged the vulnerability of teenagers increasingly drawn into fantasy leagues and online poker as a driving justification. India's approach, an outright prohibition on monetary stakes rather than a licensed regulatory model similar to the UK's Gambling Commission or Malta's Gaming Authority, is distinctive by global standards, and reflects a judgement that the gaming gambling boundary has already become too difficult to police through disclosure and age verification alone.

The larger question this leaves open

Whether prohibition succeeds where lighter touch regulation elsewhere has struggled remains genuinely unresolved, and enforcement against offshore platforms determined to evade an Indian ban is likely to be an ongoing challenge rather than a solved problem. What UNODC's warning underscores, and what India's own legislative response implicitly concedes, is that voluntary industry self regulation was never going to be sufficient on its own. Platforms have commercial incentive to keep the gaming gambling boundary blurry, not to clarify it, because that ambiguity is precisely what lets monetised, addictive design features reach audiences who would otherwise be walled off from gambling entirely. Closing that gap convincingly will likely require the kind of cross sector coordination, spanning gaming regulators, financial authorities, and platform accountability, that UNODC's own statement called for, rather than any single fix applied in isolation.

References

1. UNODC, "An Interconnected Criminal Ecosystem: Transnational Organised Crime Threat Assessment for Southeast Asia 2026," July 2026. 
2. The Hawk, "UNODC warns young gamers lured into online gambling." https://www.thehawk.in/news/india/unodc-warns-young-gamers-lured-into-online-gambling
3.  IAG, "UNODC report says Southeast Asian illegal online gambling creating cycle of crime that targets youth." https://asgam.com/2026/07/22/unodc-report-says-southeast-asian-illegal-online-gambling-creating-cycle-of-crime-that-targets-the-youth/
4. GambleAware, "Lifting the Lid on Loot Boxes: Chance-based purchases in videogames and the convergence of gaming and gambling." https://www.gambleaware.org/media/aswow4lr/gaming_and_gambling_report_final_0.pdf Drummond
5. A, Sauer JD, "Video game loot boxes are psychologically akin to gambling," Nature Human Behaviour, 2018. PubMed, "Loot Boxes, Gambling, and Problem Gambling Among Young People: Results from a Cross-Sectional Online Survey." https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33103911/
6. Mondaq, "Play By The New Rules: India's 2026 Online Gaming Law Decoded." https://www.mondaq.com/india/gaming/1785180/play-by-the-new-rules-indias-2026-online-gaming-law-decoded
7. CAclubindia, "India's Online Gaming Revolution: A Complete Guide to the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming w.e.f 1st May, 2026." https://www.caclubindia.com/articles/indias-online-gaming-revolution-a-complete-guide-to-the-promotion-and-regulation-of-online-gaming-wef-1st-may-2026-55118.asp
8. https://www.meity.gov.in/static/uploads/2025/10/8a7f103cefc68ed8aaa2ebc9a2ed7c13.pdf
9. https://x.com/UNODC/status/2100560453319467298?s=48&t=3CXE-95D2WFgsLsKDkX_Jg

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Introduction

Bumble’s launch of its ‘Opening Move’ feature has sparked a new narrative on safety and privacy within the digital dating sphere and has garnered mixed reactions from users. It was launched against the backdrop of women stating that the ‘message first’ policy of Bumble was proving to be tedious. Addressing the large-scale review, Bumble launched its ‘Opening Move’ feature, whereby users can either craft or select from pre-set questions which potential matches may choose to answer to start the conversation at first glance. These questions are a segue into meaningful and insightful conversation from the get-go and overstep the traditional effort to start engaging chats between matched users. This feature is an optional feature that users may enable and as such does not prevent a user from exercising the autonomy previously in place.

Innovative Approach to Conversation Starters

Many users consider this feature as innovative; not only does it act as a catalyst for fluid conversation but also cultivates insightful dialogue, fostering meaningful interactions that are devoid of the constraint of superficial small talk. The ‘Opening Moves’ feature may also be aligned with unique scientific research indicating that individuals form their initial attractions within 3-seconds of intimate interaction, thereby proving to be a catalyst to the decision-making process of an individual in the attraction time frame. 

Organizational Benefits and Data Insights

From an organisational standpoint, the feature is a unique solution towards localisation challenges faced by apps; the option of writing a personalised ‘Opening Move’ implies setting prompts that are culturally relevant and appropriate in a specific area. Moreover, it is anticipated that Bumble may enhance and improve user experience within the platform through data analysis. Data from responses to an ‘Opening Move’ may provide valuable insights into user preferences and patterns by analysing which pre-set prompts garner more responses over others and how often is a user-written ‘Opening Move’ successful in obtaining a response in comparison with Bumble’s pre-set prompts. A quick glance at Bumble’s privacy policy[1] shows that data storing and transferring of chats between users are not shared with third parties, further safeguarding personal privacy. However,  Bumble does use the chat data for its own internal purposes after removing personally identifiable information from chats. The manner of such review and removal of data has not been specified, which may raise challenges depending upon whether the reviewer is a human or an algorithm.

However, some users perceive the feature as counterproductive to the company’s principle of ‘women make the first move’. While Bumble aims to market the feature as a neutral ground for matched users based on the exercise of choice, users see it as a step back into the heteronormative gender expectations that most dating apps conform to, putting the onus of the ‘first move’ on men. Many male users have complained that the feature acts as a catalyst for men to opt out of the dating app and would most likely refrain from interacting with profiles enabled with the ‘Opening Move’ feature, since the pressure to answer in a creative manner is disproportionate with the likelihood their response actually being entertained.[2] Coupled with the female users terming the original protocol as ‘too much effort’, the preset questions of the ‘Opening Move’ feature may actively invite users to categorise potential matches according to arbitrary questions that undermine real-life experiences, perspectives and backgrounds of each individual.[3]

Additionally, complications are likely to arise when a notorious user sets a question that indirectly gleans personal or sensitive, identifiable information. The individual responding may be bullied or be subjected to hateful slurs when they respond to such carefully crafted conversation prompts.

Safety and Privacy Concerns

On the corollary, the appearance of choice may translate into more challenges for women on the platform. The feature may spark an increase in the number of unsolicited, undesirable messages and images from a potential match. The most vulnerable groups at present remain individuals who identify as females and other sexual minorities.[4] At present, there appears to be no mechanism in place to proactively monitor the content of responses, relying instead on user reporting. This approach may prove to be impractical given the potential volume of objectionable messages, necessitating a more efficient solution to address this issue. It is to be noted that in spite of a user reporting, the current redressal systems of online platforms remain lax, largely inadequate and demonstrate ineffectiveness in addressing user concerns or grievances. This lack of proactiveness is violative of the right to redressal provided under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. It is thought that the feature may actually take away user autonomy that Bumble originally aimed to grant since Individuals who identify as introverted, shy, soft-spoken, or non-assertive may refrain from reporting harassing messages altogether, potentially due to discomfort or reluctance to engage in confrontation. Resultantly, it is anticipated that there would be a sharp uptake in cases pertaining to cyberbullying, harassment and hate speech (especially vulgar communications) towards both the user and the potential match. 

From an Indian legal perspective, dating apps have to adhere to the Information Technology Act, 2000 [5], the Information Technology (Intermediary and Digital Media Ethics) Rules 2021 [6] and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, that regulates a person’s digital privacy and set standards on the kind of content an intermediary may host. An obligation is cast upon an intermediary to uprise its users on what content is not allowed on its platform in addition to mandating intimation of the user’s digital rights. The lack of automated checks, as mentioned above, is likely to make Bumble non-compliant with the ethical guidelines. 

The optional nature of the ‘Opening Move’ grants users some autonomy. However, some technical updates may enhance the user experience of this feature. Technologies like AI are an effective aid in behavioural and predictive analysis. An upgraded ‘matching’ algorithm can analyse the number of un-matches a profile receives, thereby identifying and flagging a profile having multiple lapsed matches. Additionally, the design interface of the application bearing a filter option to filter out flagged profiles would enable a user to be cautious while navigating through the matches. Another possible method of weeding out notorious profiles is by deploying a peer-review system of profiles whereby a user has a singular check-box that enables them to flag a profile. Such a checkbox would ideally be devoid of any option for writing personal comments and would bear a check box stating whether the profile is most or least likely to bully/harass. This would ensure that a binary, precise response is recorded and any coloured remarks are avoided. [7]

Governance and Monitoring Mechanisms

From a governance point of view, a monitoring mechanism on the manner of crafting questions is critical. Systems should be designed to detect certain words/sentences and a specific manner of framing sentences to disallow questions contrary to the national legal framework. An onscreen notification having instructions on generally acceptable manner of conversations as a reminder to users to maintain cyber hygiene while conversing is also proposed as a mandated requirement for platforms. The notification/notice may also include guidelines on what information is safe to share in order to safeguard user privacy. Lastly, a revised privacy policy should establish the legal basis for processing responses to ‘Opening Moves’, thereby bringing it in compliance with national legislations such as the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

Conclusion

Bumble's 'Opening Move' feature marks the company’s ‘statement’ step to address user concerns regarding initiating conversations on the platform. While it has been praised for fostering more meaningful interactions, it also raises not only ethical concerns but also concerns over user safety. While the 'Opening Move' feature can potentially enhance user experience, its success is largely dependent on Bumble's ability to effectively navigate the complex issues associated with this feature. A more robust monitoring mechanism that utilises newer technology is critical to address user concerns and to ensure compliance with national laws on data privacy.

Endnotes:

• [1] Bumble’s privacy policy https://bumble.com/en-us/privacy  
• [2] Discussion thread, r/bumble, Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/Bumble/comments/1cgrs0d/women_on_bumble_no_longer_have_to_make_the_first/?share_id=idm6DK7e0lgkD7ZQ2TiTq&utm_content=2&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1&rdt=65068 
• [3] Mcrea-Hedley, Olivia, “Love on the Apps: When did Dating Become so Political?”, 8 February 2024 https://www.service95.com/the-politics-of-dating-apps/ 
• [4] Gewirtz-Meydan, A., Volman-Pampanel, D., Opuda, E., & Tarshish, N. (2024). ‘Dating Apps: A New Emerging Platform for Sexual Harassment? A Scoping Review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 25(1), 752-763. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380231162969 
• [5]  Information Technology Act, 2000 https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/13116/1/it_act_2000_updated.pdf 
• [6]  Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics) Rules 2021 https://www.meity.gov.in/writereaddata/files/Information%20Technology%20%28Intermediary%20Guidelines%20and%20Digital%20Media%20Ethics%20Code%29%20Rules%2C%202021%20%28updated%2006.04.2023%29-.pdf 
• [7]  Date Confidently: Engaging Features in a Dating App (Use Cases), Consaguous, 10 July 2023 https://www.consagous.co/blog/date-confidently-engaging-features-in-a-dating-app-use-cases  

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