In the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, a video of Bollywood actor Aamir Khan is being widely shared on social media, purportedly cautioning the voters from false promises. The video in question ends with an appeal to vote for Congress.
In the video, Aamir Khan can be heard saying in Hindi: “If you think India is a poor country, then you are wrong. Because every citizen here is a lakhpati (millionaire). Every citizen here should have at least ₹15 lakh. What did you say? You don’t have this money? So, where did your ₹15 lakh go? Beware of jhumle waade (false promises).”
The above post can be seen here (archive) More such posts can be seen here, here, here and here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above video, and found it to be a deepfake.
Upon closely analysing the video, we noticed irregularities in the lip-sync at specific words like ‘lakhpati‘, ‘pandra lakh‘ and ‘jhumlewadon‘.
Putting the keyframes of the viral video through Reverse Image Search, the NM team traced the original video on the official YouTube channel of Satyamev Jayate — a show Aamir Khan used to host. This post, dated August 30, 2016, matches exactly with the video in question.
The above video can be seen here. The original video was the promo of the fourth episode of the second season of Aamir Khan’s show Satyamev Jayate, which used to discuss various social issues.
Upon comparing the keyframes of the viral video with those from the Satyamev Jayate promo, we discovered striking similarities between the visuals of both.
In the original video, Khan said: “Friends, if you think that India is a poor country, then you are absolutely wrong. Because every citizen of the country is a crorepati. Everyone should have at least ₹1 crore…. What did you say? You don’t have this sum? So where are your ₹1 crore? You’ll get to know this Sunday.”
Meanwhile, Aamir Khan through his spokesperson has clarified that the video in question is FAKE and filed an FIR with the Cyber Crime Cell of the Mumbai Police.
The official spokesperson of Aamir was quoted in several media reports stating: “We are alarmed by the recent viral video alleging that Aamir Khan is promoting a particular political party. He would like to clarify that this is a fake video and totally untrue. He has reported the matter to various authorities related to this issue, including filing an FIR with the Cyber Crime Cell of the Mumbai Police.”
“We want to clarify that Aamir Khan has never endorsed any political party throughout his 35-year career. He has dedicated his efforts to raising public awareness through Election Commission public awareness campaigns for many past elections. Khan would like to urge all Indians to come out and vote and be an active part of our electoral process,” the statement added.
These reports can be seen here, here and here.
In conclusion, the above findings establish that the audio in the video is altered using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to claim that Aamir Khan has made a video endorsing any political party.
