A video of Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh is going viral to claim that he is taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi while endorsing the Congress Party for the upcoming general elections.
What is he saying?: In the viral video, Singh can be heard saying, "This is Modiji's purpose. It was his intention to celebrate our sad lives, our fear, our unemployment and inflation. Because our India is now heading towards a time of injustice at such a pace. So we should never stop demanding our development and justice, this is why we must think and vote."
(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)
What's the truth?: This is an edited video wherein an AI-cloned audio of Singh has been superimposed upon the original video.
In the original video, Singh is talking about his experience at Kashi temple, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh and the development that PM Modi has brought in the city.
How did we find out the truth?: We found out the original video shared by Asian News International (ANI) on 14 April.
The viral video starts at 01:18 timestamp in this 02:33 long video wherein he says, "I am filled with joy seeing all of this. This was Modi ji's vision, it was to celebrate our rich cultural heritage, history, and legacy. India is progressing towards modernity in speed, but we must never forget our roots and cultural heritage. That's why development with heritage is crucial, this a blend of the past and the future. Kashi, a place older than history and tradition and witnessing development here is an absolute wonder. Seeing the integration of the past and the present in this spectacular place is an absolute marvel. I have also had the pleasure of meeting and welcoming some foreigners inside."
Clearly, the video also looks altered as the words spoken by the actor do not match the video.
We also ran the audio through Hive Moderation's Generative-AI audio detection API and it said that the audio was manipulated.
Conclusion: An altered video of Ranveer Singh is being falsely shared to claim that he is expressing his support to the Congress.
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