Fact Check: PM Modi's leaked photo with luxury watch inside expensive home? No, it's AI-generated
New Delhi: Ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, a war of words has unfolded between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over allegations of extravagance at the chief minister’s residence. While BJP leaders criticised former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal for constructing a lavish ‘Sheesh Mahal’ for himself, the AAP hits back, accusing prime minister Narendra Modi of residing in a ‘Rajmahal’ worth Rs 2,700 crores.
In this context, an image of PM Modi seemingly wearing an expensive watch in a room showcasing wall-to-wall expensive objects has gone viral.
An X user shared the image and wrote, “This photo was secretly sent by an employee working at the PM’s residence but sends his children to the schools built by Arvind Kejriwal. He secretly clicked this picture today at 3 pm while the PM was wearing this costly watch. He revealed that in this ‘Rajmahal’, there are separate rooms dedicated to expensive luxury items such as fancy suits, shoes, glasses, pens and other indulgent items. With Rs 2,700 crores spent, what isn’t possible, brother?” (Translated from Hindi) (Archive)
Fact Check
Claim: The leaked image shows prime minister Narendra Modi wearing an expensive watch in one of the luxurious rooms at his residence.
Fact: The claim is false. The image is AI-generated.
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The ‘leaked photo from PM’s residence’ is an AI-generated image.
Upon close examination of the image, we identified a watermark for ‘Grok AI’. Grok Image Generator is a generative AI tool designed to create art and visuals from text inputs. Its official website states that it is specifically built for artistic creations.
Further scrutiny of the image revealed several inconsistencies, common among AI-generated images.
Some of the obvious discrepancies include the frame of the prime minister’s spectacles appearing incomplete and fingers showing visible distortion. Additionally, the overly glossy texture of the image and the blurred background are signs of AI-generated media.
Next, we ran the image through AI detection tools to decide its authenticity.
Hive Moderation identified the image as AI-generated with an aggregate confidence score of 98.4 per cent. Wasitai confirmed that the image, or a substantial portion of it, was created by AI. Another tool, AI Image Detector, analysed the image and determined it to be 53.26 per cent AI-generated and 45.18 per cent human-generated.
Therefore, we conclude that the viral image was fabricated using AI.
(This story was originally published by News Meter, and republished by english.varthabharti.in as part of the Shakti Collective)
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Eleven cadres of several banned outfits in Manipur held
Imphal (PTI): Eleven people belonging to various banned outfits were arrested from Manipur's Imphal East, Kakching, and Thoubal districts, police said on Tuesday.
All these arrests were made on Monday, a senior officer said.
Four cadres of the proscribed Kangleipak Communist Party (PWG) were apprehended from Mantripukhri French Colony in Imphal East district, he said.
They were involved in "threatening the general public by placing hand grenades at different locations in the valley area", a police statement said.
Two pistols with two magazines and ammunition were recovered from their possession.
In a separate operation, security forces also arrested three active members of the same outfit from Keirao Wangkhem and its adjoining area in Imphal East district, the officer said.
Five firearms, ammunition and a wireless communication device were seized from their possession, he said.
A member of the proscribed Peoples Liberation Army was arrested from Sawombung Kabui Khunjao in Imphal East district for allegedly being involved in extortion activities, police said.
"Two pistols, one hand grenade and a detonator were recovered from his possession," the officer said.
Two active cadres of the banned KCP (Apunba) were arrested from an abandoned house in Wangjing Awang Leikai in Thoubal district, as they were involved in extortion, a local police officer said.
The police apprehended a cadre of the outlawed KCP (Taibanganba) from Angang Ching crossing in Kakching district, he said.
Security forces have been conducting search operations in Manipur since ethnic violence broke out two years ago.
More than 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023.
The Centre had on February 13 imposed the President's rule in Manipur after Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned.
The state assembly, which has a tenure till 2027, has been put under suspended animation.
