#FactCheck:Fake Poster Falsely Claims ₹699 Prize Offer on PM Modi’s Birthday
Executive Summary
A poster is being shared on social media claiming that people have an opportunity to win up to ₹699 on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday. The poster carries a “GET OFFER” button and asks users to click on it.
The CyberPeace Research Wing found the claim to be false. The research found that the Government of India has made no such announcement offering ₹699 to people on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday. The viral post is misleading and fake.
Claim
A Facebook user shared the viral poster with the caption:“Congratulations, you have won up to ₹699 from Prime Minister Modi.”
https://www.facebook.com/100083035017578/videos/1533904658280321/
FactCheck
To verify the claim, we conducted a Google search using relevant keywords. However, we did not find any credible media report confirming that the Government of India had announced such an offer.
We then checked the official website of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for any announcement related to the alleged ₹699 prize offer. No official notification or report supporting the claim was found.
As part of the next stage of verification, we also checked the official X accounts of the PMO and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We found no post or official announcement confirming the viral claim.
https://x.com/narendramodi
Conclusion
Our research found that the Government of India has not announced any ₹699 prize or offer on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday. The viral poster is therefore fake and misleading. Users should avoid clicking on such suspicious “GET OFFER” links, as they may be designed to redirect users to fraudulent or deceptive websites.
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Executive Summary
An image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being widely circulated on social media. The picture is being shared with the claim that during an election campaign in Assam, a full-fledged shooting set was arranged in a tea garden where Modi interacted with women workers, complete with cameras, microphones, lights, and a director-led production team. However, research by the CyberPeace has found the claim to be false. Our research reveals that the viral image is AI-generated and is being shared with a misleading narrative.
Claim
An Instagram user shared the viral image with the caption suggesting that such a large-scale “shoot” setup had been arranged and questioned the cost involved.
Post link:
Fact Check
To verify the claim, we conducted a keyword-based search on Google. However, we did not find any credible media reports supporting the claim that such a shooting setup was arranged during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Assam. Upon closely examining the viral image, we noticed several visual inconsistencies that raised suspicion about it being artificially generated. To confirm this, we analyzed the image using the AI detection tool Hive Moderation, which indicated that the image is approximately 99% AI-generated.
To further validate the findings, we also tested the image using another AI detection tool, NoteGPT, which similarly classified the image as 99% AI-generated.
For context, ahead of the 2026 Assam Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been on a campaign visit to the state. According to a report by DD News, he visited a tea garden in Dibrugarh, where he interacted with women workers and even plucked tea leaves himself.
Conclusion
Our research clearly establishes that the viral image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not authentic and has been digitally created using AI tools. There is no evidence to support the claim that a staged shooting setup involving cameras, lights, and a production crew was arranged during his visit. The image is being circulated with a misleading narrative to create a false impression. This case highlights how AI-generated visuals can be used to distort real events and spread misinformation.
Pretext
On 20th October 2022, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed a penalty of Rs. 1,337.76 crores on Google for abusing its dominant position in multiple markets in the Android Mobile device ecosystem, apart from issuing cease and desist orders. The CCI also directed Google to modify its conduct within a defined timeline. Smart mobile devices need an operating system (OS) to run applications (apps) and programs. Android is one such mobile operating system that Google acquired in 2005. In the instant matter, the CCI examined various practices of Google w.r.t. licensing of this Android mobile operating system and various proprietary mobile applications of Google (e.g., Play Store, Google Search, Google Chrome, YouTube, etc.).
The Issue
Google was found to be misusing its dominant position in the tech market, and the same was the reason behind the penalty. Google argued about the competitive constraints being faced from Apple. In relation to understanding the extent of competition between Google’s Android ecosystem and Apple’s iOS ecosystem, the CCI noted the differences in the two business models, which affect the underlying incentives of business decisions. Apple’s business is primarily based on a vertically integrated smart device ecosystem that focuses on the sale of high-end smart devices with state-of-the-art software components. In contrast, Google’s business was found to be driven by the ultimate intent of increasing users on its platforms so that they interact with its revenue-earning service, i.e., online searches, which directly affects the sale of online advertising services by Google. It was seen that google had created a dominant position among the android phone manufacturers as they were made to have a set of google apps preinstalled in the device to increase the user’s dependency on google services. The CCI felt that Google had created a dominant position to which they replied that the same operations are done by Apple as well, to which the commission responded that apple is a phone and app manufacturer and they have Apple-owned apps in Apple devices only, but Google here in had made a pseudo mandate for android manufactures to have the google apps pre-installed which is, in turn, a possible way of disrupting the market equilibrium and violative of market practices. The CCI imposed a penalty of Rs. 1,337.76 for abusing its dominant position in multiple markets in India, CCI delineated the following five relevant markets in the present matter –
- The market for licensable OS for smart mobile devices in India
- The market for app store for Android smart mobile OS in India
- The market for general web search services in India
- The market for non-OS specific mobile web browsers in India
- The market for online video hosting platforms (OVHP) in India.
Supreme Courts Opinion
In October 2022, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) ruled that Google, owned by Alphabet Inc, exploited its dominant position in Android and told it to remove restrictions on device makers, including those related to the pre-installation of apps and ensuring exclusivity of its search. Google lost a challenge in the Supreme Court to block the directives, as the learned court refused to put a stay on the imposed penalty, further giving seven days to comply. The Supreme Court has said a lower tribunal—where Google first challenged the Android directives—can continue to hear the company’s appeal and must rule by March 31.
Counterpoint Research estimates that about 97% of 600 million smartphones in India run on Android. Apple has just a 3% share. Hoping to block the implementation of the CCI directives, Google challenged the CCI order in the Supreme Court by warning it could stall the growth of the Android ecosystem. It also said it would be forced to alter arrangements with more than 1,100 device manufacturers and thousands of app developers if the directives kick in. Google has been concerned about India’s decision as the steps are seen as more sweeping than those imposed in the European Commission’s 2018 ruling. There it was fined for putting in place what the Commission called unlawful restrictions on Android mobile device makers. Google is still challenging the record $4.3 billion fine in that case. In Europe, Google made changes later, including letting Android device users pick their default search engine, and said device makers would be able to license the Google mobile application suite separately from the Google Search App or the Chrome browser.
Conclusion
As the world goes deeper into cyberspace, the big tech companies have more control over the industry and the markets, but the same should not turn into anarchy in the global markets. The Tech giants need to be made aware that compliance is the utmost duty for all companies, and enforcement of the law of the land will be maintained no matter what. Earlier India lacked policies and legislation to govern cyberspace, but in the recent proactive stance by the govt, a lot of new bills have been tabled, one of them being the Intermediary Rules 2021, which has laid down the obligations nand duties of the companies by setting up an intermediary in the country. Such bills coupled with such crucial judgments on tech giants will act as a test and barrier for other tech companies who try to flaunt the rules and avoid compliance.
Executive Summary:
In the recent advisory the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has released a high severity warning in the older versions of the software across Apple devices. This high severity rating is because of the multiple vulnerabilities reported in Apple products which could allow the attacker to unfold the sensitive information, and execute arbitrary code on the targeted system. This warning is extremely useful to remind of the necessity to have the software up to date to prevent threats of a cybernature. It is important to update the software to the latest versions and cyber hygiene practices.
Devices Affected:
CERT-In advisory highlights significant risks associated with outdated software on the following Apple devices:
- iPhones and iPads: iOS versions that are below 18 and the 17.7 release.
- Mac Computers: All macOS builds before 14.7 (20G71), 13.7 (20H34), and earlier 20.2 for Sonoma, Ventura, Sequoia, respectively.
- Apple Watches: watchOS versions prior to 11
- Apple TVs: tvOS versions prior to 18
- Safari Browsers: versions prior to 18
- Xcode: versions prior to 16
- visionOS: versions prior to 2
Details of the Vulnerabilities:
The vulnerabilities discovered in these Apple products could potentially allow attackers to perform the following malicious activities:
- Access sensitive information: The attackers could easily access the sensitive information stored in other parts of the violated gadgets.
- Execute arbitrary code: The web page could be compromised with malcode and run on the targeted system which in the worst scenario would give the intruder full Administrator privileges on the device.
- Bypass security restrictions: Measures agreed to safeguard the device and information contained on it may be easily bypassed and the system left open to more proliferation.
- Cause denial-of-service (DoS) attacks: The vulnerabilities could be used to cause the targeted device or service to be unavailable to the rightful users.
- Perform spoofing attacks: There could be a situation where the attackers created fake entities or users or accounts to have a way into important information or do other unauthorized activities.
- Elevate privileges: It is also stated that weaknesses might be exploited to authorize the attacker a higher level of privileges in the system they are targets.
- Engage in cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks: Some of them make the associated Web applications/sites prone to XSS attacks by injecting hostile scripts into Web page code.
Vulnerabilities:
CVE-2023-42824
- Attack vector could allow a local attacker to elevate their privileges and potentially execute arbitrary code.
Affected System
- Apple's iOS and iPadOS software
CVE-2023-42916
- To improve the out of bounds read it was mitigated with improved input validation which was resolved later.
Affected System
- Safari, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and Apple Watch Series 4 and later devices running watchOS 10.2
CVE-2023-42917
- leads to arbitrary code execution, and there have been reports of it being exploited in earlier versions of iOS.
Affected System
- Apple's Safari browser, iOS, iPadOS, and macOS Sonoma systems
Recommended Actions for Users:
To mitigate these risks, that users take immediate action:
- Update Software: Ensure all your devices are on the most current version of the operating systems they use. Repetitive updates have important security updates that fix identified weaknesses or flaws within the system.
- Monitor Device Activity: Stay vigilant if something doesn’t seem right; if your gadgets are accessed by someone who isn’t you.
- Always use strong, distinct passwords and use two-factor authentication.
- Install and update the antivirus and Firewall softwares.
- Avoid downloading any applications or clicking link from unknown sources
Conclusion:
The advisory from CERT-In, clearly demonstrates the fundamental need of keeping the software on all Apple devices up to date. Consumers need to act right away to patch their devices and apply best security measures like using multiple factors for login and system scanning. This advisory has come out when Apple has just released new products into the market such as the iPhone 16 series in India. When consumers embrace new technologies it is important for them to observe relevant measures of security precautions. Maintaining good cyber hygiene is a critical process for the protection against new threats.
Reference:
- https://www.cert-in.org.in/s2cMainServlet?pageid=PUBVLNOTES02&VLCODE=CIAD-2023-0043
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-42916
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-42917
- https://www.bizzbuzz.news/technology/gadjets/cert-in-issues-advisory-on-vulnerabilities-affecting-iphones-ipads-and-macs-1337253#google_vignette
- https://www.wionews.com/videos/india-warns-apple-users-of-high-severity-security-risks-in-older-software-761396
