#FactCheck - Debunking Manipulated Photos of Smiling Secret Service Agents During Trump Assassination Attempt

AI systems have grown in both popularity and complexity on which they operate. They are enhancing accessibility for all, including people with disabilities, by revolutionising sectors including healthcare, education, and public services.  We are at the stage where AI-powered solutions that can help people with mental, physical, visual or hearing impairments perform everyday and complex tasks are being created. 

Generative AI is now being used to amplify human capability. The development of tools for speech-to-text and image recognition is helping in facilitating communication and interaction for visually or hearing-impaired individuals, and smart prosthetics are providing tailored support. Unfortunately, even with these developments, PWDs have continued to face challenges. Therefore, it is important to balance innovation with ethical considerations aand ensuring that these technologies are designed with qualities like privacy, equity, and inclusivity in mind. 

Access to Tech: the Barriers Faced by PWDs 

PWDs face several barriers while accessing technology. Identifying these challenges is important as they lack computer accessibility, in the use of hardware and software, which has become a norm in life nowadays. Website functions that only work when users click with a mouse, self-service kiosks without accessibility features, touch screens without screen reader software or tactile keyboards, and out-of-order equipment, such as lifts, captioning mirrors and description headsets, are just some difficulties that they face in their day-to-day life.

While they are helpful, much of the current technology doesn’t fully address all disabilities. For example, many assistive devices focus on visual or mobility impairments, but they fall short of addressing cognitive or sensory conditions. In addition to this, these solutions often lack personalisation, making them less effective for individuals with diverse needs. AI has significant potential to bridge this gap. With adaptive systems like voice assistants, real-time translation, and personalised features, AI can create more inclusive solutions, improving access to both digital and physical spaces for everyone.

The Importance of Inclusive AI Design

Creating an Inclusive AI design is important. It ensures that PWDs are not excluded from technological advancements because of the impairments that they are suffering from. The concept of an ‘inclusive or universal’ design promotes creating products and services that are usable for the widest possible range of people.  Tech Developers have an ethical responsibility to create advancements in AI that serve everyone. Accessibility features should be built into the core design. They should be treated as a practice rather than an afterthought. However, bias in AI development often stems from data of a non-representative nature, or assumptions can lead to systems that overlook or poorly serve PWDs. If AI algorithms are trained on limited or biased data, they risk excluding marginalised groups, making ethical, inclusive design a necessity for equity and accessibility.

Regulatory Efforts to Ensure Accessible AI

In India, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act of 2016 impresses upon the need to provide PWDs with equal accessibility to technology. Subsequently, the DPDP Act of 2023 highlights data privacy concerns for the disabled under section 9 to process their data. 

On the international level, the newly incorporated EU’s AI Act mandates measures for transparent, safe, and fair access to AI systems along with including measures that are related to accessibility. 

In the US, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 508 of the 1998 amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 are the primary legislations that work on promoting digital accessibility in public services.

Challenges in implementing Regulations for AI Accessibility for PWDs

Defining the term ‘inclusive AI’ is a challenge. When working on implementing regulations and compliance for the accessibility of AI, if the primary work is left undefined, it makes the task of creating tools to address the issue an issue. The rapid pace of tech and AI development has more often outpaced legal frameworks in development. This leads to the creation of enforcement gaps. Countries like Canada and tech industry giants like Microsoft and Google are leading forces behind creating accessible AI innovations. Their regulatory frameworks focus on developing AI ethics with inclusivity and collaboration with disability rights groups. 

India’s efforts in creating an inclusive AI include the redesign of the Sugamya Bharat app. The app had been created to assist PWDs and the elderly.  It will now be incorporating AI features specifically to assist the intended users. 

Though AI development has opportunities for inclusivity, unregulated development can be risky.  Regulation plays a critical role in ensuring that AI-driven solutions prioritise inclusivity, fairness, and accessibility, harnessing AI’s potential to empower PWDs and contribute to a more inclusive society.

Conclusion

AI development can offer PWDs unprecedented independence and accessibility in leading their lives. The development of AI while keeping inclusivity and fairness in mind is needed to be prioritised. AI that is free from bias, combined with robust regulatory frameworks, together are essential in ensuring that AI serves equitably. Collaborations between tech developers, policymakers, and disability advocates need to be supported and promoted to build AI systems. This will in turn work towards bridging the accessibility gaps for PWDs. As AI continues to evolve, maintaining a steadfast commitment to inclusivity will be crucial in preventing marginalisation and advancing true technological progress for all.

References

• https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/over-1-4k-accessibility-related-complaints-filed-on-govt-app-75-solved-124090800118_1.html 
• https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2023/06/16/empowering-individuals-with-disabilities-through-ai-technology/ .
• https://hbr.org/2023/08/designing-generative-ai-to-work-for-people-with-disabilities ‍
• Thehttps://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2018/05/07/using-ai-to-empower-people-with-disabilities/andensur,personalization

Executive Summary:

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A photo circulating on social media shows a stage with the words “Hindu Sammelan” (Hindu Conference) written in large letters. In front of the stage, rows of chairs appear largely empty, with only a few people seated while most seats remain vacant.

Users sharing the image claim that the event, held under the banner of a “Hindu Sammelan,” was in fact a “Brahmin Sammelan,” and that indigenous communities chose to stay away, resulting in poor attendance.

It is noteworthy that, on the occasion of the centenary year of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), various “Hindu Sammelan” events are being organized across the country. The viral image is being linked to this broader context.

However, research conducted by the CyberPeace found the viral claim to be false. Our research  revealed that the image being shared on social media is not authentic but AI-generated and is being circulated with a misleading narrative.

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Claim

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On February 21, 2026, a Facebook user shared the viral image. The original and archived links are provided below

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• https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=935049042540479&set=gm.2425972001215469&idorvanity=465387370607285 
• https://ghostarchive.org/archive/sxC6d 

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Fact Check:

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A keyword search on Google confirmed that several “Hindu Sammelan” events have indeed been organized across the country as part of the RSS centenary year. For instance, media reports have covered such events in different cities, including Nagpur.

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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/dharma-is-our-duty-kulshrestha-urges-national-devotion-at-virat-hindu-sammelan/articleshow/128359676.cms 

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However, upon closely examining the viral image, we observed certain visual inconsistencies and unnatural elements that raised suspicion of AI generation. We first analyzed the image using the AI detection tool Hive Moderation, which indicated a 79.3 percent probability that the image was AI-generated.

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To further verify, we scanned the image using another AI detection platform, Sightengine. The results showed a 97 percent likelihood that the image was AI-generated.

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Conclusion

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Our research  confirms that the image circulating on social media is not genuine. It has been artificially created using AI technology and is being shared with a misleading claim.

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Introduction

Delhi is Delhi-ing these days — whether it's the protest, the monsoon weather, the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament, metro disruptions, or just the general chaos of it all. Amid everything else, it's been over 30 days, starting from late June 2026, since the large public march organised in part by the group known as the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) converged near Parliament and on Jantar Mantar, and the city hasn't quite exhaled since. Like every large, fast-moving public event, it's come with a parallel flood online: photos, video clips, injury claims, and hot takes pouring in from participants, bystanders, and news outlets alike, all competing for your instagram scroll.

CyberPeace is a non-partisan digital trust and safety organisation, and what we do care about is the online information environment building up around the event — helping people spot misinformation and manipulated media, and encouraging a bit more caution before hitting "share" while rumours are moving faster than facts.

Delhi Police has already made a public appeal along similar lines, asking citizens against online spread of unverified rumours, noting that misinformation could make an already tense situation worse. This advisory builds on that, with some practical guidance for everyday netizens navigating the protest in light of social media.

Why This Matters Right Now

30 plus days in, the story has layers: the original hunger strike, the march itself, police action, viral clips, and now a second wave of commentary reacting to the reactions. Old footage resurfaces relabelled as "live." Numbers get inflated or deflated depending on who's sharing them. Screenshots go around stripped of context. The longer a protest runs, the murkier the timeline gets for anyone just scrolling past — which is exactly when misinformation finds the most room to spread.

The internet access was also restricted in parts of the city during the march, which has itself become a point of attention.

Given how much unverified information is already circulating, it's worth treating any single account of "what actually happened". The full picture will likely take time to emerge through credible reporting and scrutiny. 

Why This Moment Is Especially Prone to Misinformation

A few things are working together here to make mis-information spread faster than usual: Emotions are running high. Clashes, injuries, and confrontations naturally provoke strong reactions, and content that makes people angry or afraid tends to get shared quickly, with far less scrutiny than a calm, verified report would get.

There are information gaps. Reports of internet restrictions in parts of the city leave holes that get filled with speculation  or worse, old footage recycled and passed off as live updates.

The event is politically charged, which means competing narratives are synthetically being pushed from multiple directions, sometimes deliberately, making it harder to find neutral ground.

There's simply a huge volume of content. Thousands of clips and photos are being posted from one event, which makes it easy for unrelated or out-of-context material to slip in alongside the real thing. And then there's satire. Part of this movement has roots in political satire, so parody posts and meme accounts can easily be mistaken for genuine news if they're shared without context.

Common Types of Misleading Content to Watch For

A few patterns tend to show up again and again during events like this:

1. Old footage getting relabelled -  Photos or videos from a completely different protest, city, or even country, re-shared with a caption claiming it's from this event.
2. Clips taken out of context - A short moment, like a scuffle, shown without what happened right before or after it, changing how it reads.
3. Doctored images - Photos edited to add, remove, or exaggerate people, banners, injuries, or crowd size.
4. Fake official statements - Screenshots or graphics designed to look like they came from Delhi Police or a government department, but never actually issued.
5. Made-up casualty numbers - Figures shared with no real source, often vaguely attributed to "eyewitnesses."
6. Impersonation accounts - Handles designed to look like an official police or organiser account, sometimes just one letter off from the real one.
7. AI-generated visuals - Fully or partly synthetic images and videos showing scenes or crowds that never actually happened.
8. Rumours about shutdowns - Unverified claims about internet blackouts, road closures, or metro shutdowns that may be old, exaggerated, or simply untrue.

What Netizens Should Do:

• Pause before you forward. If a clip or claim makes you feel an instant, strong reaction, that's often the moment to slow down, not speed up.
• Check the timestamp and source. A five-day-old protest generates a lot of recycled footage. Reverse image/video search before assuming something is "breaking."
• Cross-check with more than one outlet. If only one account or page is reporting something dramatic, wait for corroboration.
• Be wary of numbers without sources. Injury counts, crowd sizes, and arrest figures are easy to exaggerate in either direction.
• Don't share unverified visuals of injuries or violence. Beyond accuracy concerns, this can also cause real harm to the people shown.
• When in doubt, don't repost — verify first, or simply sit it out.

How to Check a Claim Before You Share It:

A checklist goes a long way here:

1. Pause for a second. Content built to provoke a strong reaction is often designed to get past your defenses before you think twice. Just slowing down is itself protective.
2. Ask where it actually came from. Is this from a named journalist or outlet you can verify, or an anonymous forward with no clear origin? Messages that have clearly been passed around many times deserve extra suspicion.
3. Look for more than one source. If something significant is genuinely true, you'll usually find several independent, reputable outlets reporting it not just one channel or account.
4. Check the date and place. A quick reverse image or video search can tell you if a photo or clip has shown up online before, and what it was originally about.
5. Wait for official confirmation. For anything involving police action, injuries, or arrests, check verified accounts like Delhi Police, PIB, established news wires before treating a claim as settled fact.
6. Be suspicious of absolute language. Words like "confirmed," "breaking," or "exposed," used without naming any actual source, are a classic misinformation tell.
7. Look at the account, not just the post. New accounts with no history, or ones that only ever post about this one topic, deserve a second look.
8. Notice when something feels too satisfying. If a claim perfectly confirms what you already believed, that's exactly when you should slow down and check it; it's the content you're least likely to question on your own.

Reliable Fact-Checking Platforms and AI Detection Tools:

These resources can help you check specific claims, images, or videos:

1. For fact-checking: PIB Fact Check (factcheck.pib.gov.in) for anything involving government statements or orders; Alt News (altnews.in) and BOOM Live (boomlive.in), two independent Indian outlets that regularly cover protest- and politics-related claims.
2. For reverse image and video searches: Google Images, Google Lens, and TinEye can show you where a photo first appeared and in what context. InVID-WeVerify is a free browser plugin built for journalists that breaks videos into keyframes and lets you reverse-search individual frames.
3. For AI and synthetic media detection: Hive Moderation and Sensity AI offer public tools for checking images and video. Deepware Scanner focuses specifically on deepfake video. And most major platforms like Meta, YouTube, X are now labeling some AI-generated content automatically, though the absence of a label doesn't mean something's real.
4. A few terms worth knowing: A cheapfake is misleading media made with simple editing, cropping, slowing down, re-captioning rather than AI. These are still far more common than actual AI deepfakes. A deepfake is synthetic audio, video, or image content made with AI to convincingly show someone saying or doing something they didn't. Synthetic media is the broader umbrella term for any AI-generated content, whether or not it's being used to deceive.

Reporting Mechanism ~ If You Come Across Suspected Misinformation

Don't share it further, even to mock or correct it  any engagement can boost its reach. Check it against the fact-checking tools above before deciding what you think is true. Report it directly on the platform. If it falls  under the category of ‘Unlawful Content’ as per IT Rules, you can reach out to the grievance officer of the platform for removal of such content.

If it involves a government statement or order, send it to PIB Fact Check. If it looks like incitement, impersonation, extortion, or another cybercrime, report it to the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in) or call 1930. 

Further Steps & helplines

1. To file a cybercrime complaint: National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal - 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in 
2. To flag a fake government-related claim: PIB Fact Check - factcheck.pib.gov.in
3. For an on-ground emergency: dial 100 / 112 
4. CyberPeace Helpline: +91 9570000066 or helpline@cyberpeace.net
5. For fact check and debunking of any suspicious viral information, you can reach out to cyberpeace at helpline@cyberpeace.net
6. If this advisory feels useful, consider sharing it in family WhatsApp groups, community networks, or student and youth organisations as it helps slow the spread of unverified content when more people are thinking about it.

CyberPeace's Message to Netizens

Being first to share something isn't the same as being right. In moments like this, the most useful thing any of us can do is slow down, verify before sharing, be a little suspicious of content that confirms exactly what we already believed, and trust named, accountable sources over anonymous forwards. Misinformation during civic unrest doesn't just mislead people; it can raise tensions, put individuals at risk, and chip away at trust in both the media and the institutions meant to maintain public order.Our goal is simply to help people navigate the information around it a little more safely and critically.

Conclusion

Protests and public unrest always generate a flood of information, and not all of it will be accurate. What keeps that information environment healthy isn't any single authority or platform, it's the everyday habits of the people deciding, one post at a time, whether to check something or just pass it along.  Delhi's news cycle will keep moving, and this advisory isn't asking anyone to disengage from it. It's just a nudge to stay a little more careful with what you believe and what you pass on in this social media age. Pause. Verify. Scroll healthy. Stay CyberPeaceful.

References

1. https://rajkaran.in/delhi-police-urges-calm-amid-cjp-protest-warns-against-rumours-as-clashes-erupt-during-chalo-sansad-march
2. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0kkSCYrjRGc
3. https://factcheck.pib.gov.in/
4. https://www.altnews.in/
5. https://www.boomlive.in/
6. https://www.vishvasnews.com/
7. https://www.factcrescendo.com/
8. https://cybercrime.gov.in/

Contributors

1. Neeraj Soni, Sr. Research Analyst, Policy & Advocacy, CyberPeace
2. Ritika Goswami, Intern - Policy & Advocacy, CyberPeace

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