Fact Check: AI-Manipulated Viral Video Falsely Claims A Woman Was Paid to Protest Oli’s Arrest
चैत २३, २०८२ १२:६
Kathmandu. For the past few days, a video of a young woman has been going viral on social media. The young woman is seen claiming that she went out onto the streets to protest the arrest because CPN-UML Chairman and former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had previously paid her between 60,000 and 70,000 rupees and had promised to pay her again.
However, during TechPana FactCheck’s investigation, it was found that the video was created using AI and circulated with misleading claims. In reality, the young woman seen in the video was questioning journalists about how Oli’s arrest warrant was issued and how he was taken into custody on Saturday morning. Fact-checking confirmed that the same video had been manipulated using AI and falsely circulated to claim that money was taken for protests.
Claim
An 18-second-long video has been shared from a verified Facebook account named ‘Ganesh Saud.’ A young woman can be heard speaking in the video, posted on March 30 at 5:24, with the caption “What’s the matter?” She claims that she came to protest after receiving money.
In the video, the young woman is saying, “We don’t know anything. KP Ba said he would give money. He had given money before too, 60/70 thousand. That’s why we are opposing him. But please don’t let this video go viral.”
Then a man said, “I was wondering, why is this sister out on the road? Turns out this sister came for the money. You see, the truth is coming out now. Friends, what do you say to this sister?”
As of the time this content was prepared, the video had received more than 101,000 reactions, 4,000 comments, and had been shared more than 14,000 times. The video has been viewed more than 2.3 million times. Check out the original video, the recorded video, and the screenshot.
Investigation
The same video has also been shared from a Facebook account named ‘Prakash Raza’. In the caption of the post shared at 7:48 p.m. on March 30, it was written, “KP Ba had given 60-70 thousand before. @highlight #viralreelsシ #nepal.”
By the time this content was prepared, more than 1.5 million people had viewed the video, and 52,000 had reacted. Similarly, the video has 1,300 comments and has been shared more than 3,100 times. See the original video and screenshot.
Another Facebook user, ‘Kalpana’, shared the same video content on March 30 at 2:38 p.m. The video with the caption “What’s the main thing” has been viewed more than 1 million times, with more than 4,900 reactions and more than 4,300 shares. See the original video and screenshot.
In the video shared by Facebook user ‘Kalpana’, the logo of ‘Veo’ is visible. Veo is Google’s generative AI video model. With its help, users can create videos as they wish.
After noticing the logo in the video, we used the SynthID detection tool to verify whether it was AI-generated. The SynthID detection tool concluded that the video scenes might have been modified or generated using Google AI tools.
After that, we uploaded the video to the AI detection tool Hive Moderation. The analysis showed that the video was 99.9 percent likely to be AI-generated.
When the same AI voice detection tool, ‘Truth Scan’ tested the video and concluded that 99 percent of the voice used in the video is AI-generated.
fter determining that both the video's audio and visual content were generated using artificial intelligence, we conducted a Google reverse image search using a screenshot from the video
During the search, a video was found on the Facebook page ‘Call24 News’ that was posted on the afternoon of March 28 (the day KP Sharma Oli was arrested) at 4:25 with the title “We will not remain silent in protest of Oli's arrest.” In the 51-second-long video, the young woman questions journalists regarding KP Sharma Oli’s arrest, asking, “How was the arrest warrant issued early Saturday morning?” She stated during the interview that even though she accepted the current government out of respect for the will of the people, no one is above the law. However, in the video, she does not mention that she came to the movement because she received ‘money’ from KP Oli.
Claim
The viral young woman said that she came out to protest against the arrest of former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli because she received money.
Claimants
Facebook users include social media users such as ‘Ganesh Saud’, ‘Prakash Raza’, and ‘Kalpana’, among others.
Facts
The logo of Google’s AI video model ‘Veo’ is seen in the viral video. AI detection tools like Synth ID, Hive Moderation, and Truth Scan have confirmed that both the visuals and audio of this video are AI-generated. In the actual video footage, the young woman was asking journalists questions about the circumstances of Oli’s arrest. AI was used to alter her lip movement and voice to spread misinformation.
Conclusion
The video, which appears to show a young woman giving an interview protesting former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's arrest because she received money, is misleading. The original interview was manipulated using AI to fabricate a statement and spread misinformation.
Feedback
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