A viral video featuring an AI-generated voice clone of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi swearing in as Prime Minister of India has sparked concerns about the proliferation of deepfake content amidst the ongoing Lok Sabha election results.
The video shows Rahul Gandhi taking the oath of office against the backdrop of stirring music and images of the iconic Red Fort in Delhi. The ideo was widely circulated widely on social media platforms as the Congress supporters enthusiastically shared the clip. The clip fueled speculation about Gandhi’s potential ascension to the country’s highest office.
The caption on the video, reportedly, suggested that June 4, that is the day of the election results announcement, could herald the Congress leader’s inauguration as Prime Minister. However, upon closer examination by fact-checking organization BOOM, it was revealed that the audio in the video had been artificially generated using advanced AI technology.
BOOM, further, conducted a thorough analysis of the audio, employing specialized deepfake detection tools developed by institutions such as the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jodhpur and contrails.ai. Both tools conclusively determined that the audio was a product of AI voice cloning, designed to mimic Gandhi’s speech patterns and intonations.
According to reports from contrails.ai, the technique employed to create the audio involved a “very cheap AI audio clone mixed with loud BG music,” highlighting the deceptive nature of the viral clip.
In a related incident, BOOM recently debunked another AI-generated voice clone, this time featuring Congress leader Kamal Nath making contentious promises regarding land allocation for mosque construction and the reinstatement of Article 370.
