#FactCheck - "Deepfake Video Falsely Claims Justin Trudeau Endorses Investment Project”
Executive Summary:
A viral online video claims Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promotes an investment project. However, the CyberPeace Research Team has confirmed that the video is a deepfake, created using AI technology to manipulate Trudeau's facial expressions and voice. The original footage has no connection to any investment project. The claim that Justin Trudeau endorses this project is false and misleading.
Claims:
A viral video falsely claims that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is endorsing an investment project.
Fact Check:
Upon receiving the viral posts, we conducted a Google Lens search on the keyframes of the video. The search led us to various legitimate sources featuring Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, none of which included promotion of any investment projects. The viral video exhibited signs of digital manipulation, prompting a deeper investigation.
We used AI detection tools, such as TrueMedia, to analyze the video. The analysis confirmed with 99.8% confidence that the video was a deepfake. The tools identified "substantial evidence of manipulation," particularly in the facial movements and voice, which were found to be artificially generated.
Additionally, an extensive review of official statements and interviews with Prime Minister Trudeau revealed no mention of any such investment project. No credible reports were found linking Trudeau to this promotion, further confirming the video’s inauthenticity.
Conclusion:
The viral video claiming that Justin Trudeau promotes an investment project is a deepfake. The research using various tools such as Google Lens, AI detection tool confirms that the video is manipulated using AI technology. Additionally, there is no information in any official sources. Thus, the CyberPeace Research Team confirms that the video was manipulated using AI technology, making the claim false and misleading.
- Claim: Justin Trudeau promotes an investment project viral on social media.
- Claimed on: Facebook
- Fact Check: False & Misleading
Related Blogs
.webp)
The Delhi High Court vide order dated 21st November 2024 directed the Centre to nominate members for a committee constituted to examine the issue of deepfakes. The court was informed by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) that a committee had been formed on 20 November 2024 on deepfake matters. The Delhi High Court passed an order while hearing two writ petitions against the non-regulation of deepfake technology in the country and the threat of its potential misuse. The Centre submitted that it was actively taking measures to address and mitigate the issues related to deepfake technology. The court directed the central government to nominate the members within a week.
The court further stated that the committee shall examine and take into consideration the suggestions filed by the petitioners and consider the regulations as well as statutory frameworks in foreign countries like the European Union. The court has directed the committee to invite the experiences and suggestions of stakeholders such as intermediary platforms, telecom service providers, victims of deepfakes, and websites which provide and deploy deepfakes. The counsel for the petitioners stated that delay in the creation, detection and removal of deepfakes is causing immense hardship to the public at large. Further, the court has directed the said committee to submit its report, as expeditiously as possible, preferably within three months. The matter is further listed on 24th March 2025.
CyberPeace Outlook
Through the issue of misuse of deepfakes by bad actors, it has become increasingly difficult for users to differentiate between genuine and altered content created by deepfakes. This increasing misuse has led to a rise in cyber crimes and poses dangers to users' privacy. Bad actors use any number of random pictures or images collected from the internet to create such non-consensual deepfake content. Such deepfake videos further pose risks of misinformation and fake news campaigns with the potential to sway elections, cause confusion and mistrust in authorities, and more.
The conceivable legislation governing the deepfake is the need of the hour. It is important to foster regulated, ethical and responsible consumption of technology. The comprehensive legislation governing the issue can help ensure technology can be used in a better manner. The dedicated deepfake regulation and deploying ethical practices through a coordinated approach by concerned stakeholders can effectively manage the problems presented by the misuse of deepfake technology. Legal frameworks in this regard need to be equipped to handle the challenges posed by deepfake and AI. Accountability in AI is also a complex issue that requires comprehensive legal reforms. The government should draft policies and regulations that balance innovation and regulation. Through a multifaceted approach and comprehensive regulatory landscape, we can mitigate the risks posed by deepfakes and safeguard privacy, trust, and security in the digital age.
References
- https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/3168452-delhi-high-court-calls-for-action-on-deepfake-regulation
- https://images.assettype.com/barandbench/2024-11-23/w63zribm/Chaitanya_Rohilla_vs_Union_of_India.pdf
Introduction
The information of hundreds of thousands of Indians who received the COVID vaccine was Leaked in a significant data breach and posted on a Telegram channel. Numerous reports claim that sensitive information, including a person’s phone number, gender, ID card details, and date of birth, leaked over Telegram. It could be obtained by typing a person’s name into a Telegram bot.
What really happened?
The records pertaining to the mobile number registered in the CoWin portal are accessible on the Malayalam news website channel. It is also feasible to determine which vaccination was given and where it was given.
According to The Report, the list of individuals whose data was exposed includes BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, and former BJP union minister for health Harsh Vardhan. Telangana’s minister of information and communication technology, Kalvakuntla Taraka Rama Rao, is also on the list.
MEITY stated in response to the data leak, “It is old data, we are still confirming it. We have requested a report on the matter.
After the media Report, the bot was disabled, but experts said the incident raised severe issues because the information might be used for identity theft, phishing emails, con games, and extortion calls. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), the government’s nodal body, has opened an investigation into the situation
The central government declared the data breach reports regarding the repository of beneficiaries against Covid to be “mischievous in nature” on Monday and claimed the ‘bot’ that purportedly accessed the confidential data was not directly accessing the CoWIN database.
According to the first complaint by CERT-In, the government’s cybersecurity division, the government claimed the bot might be displaying information from “previously stolen data.” Reports.
The health ministry refuted the claim, asserting that no bots could access the information without first verifying with a one-time password.
“It is made clear that all of these rumours are false and malicious. The health ministry’s CoWIN interface is entirely secure and has sufficient data privacy protections. The security of the data on the CoWIN portal is being ensured in every way possible, according to a statement from the health ministry.
Meity said the CoWin program or database was not directly compromised, and the shared information appeared to be taken from a previous intrusion. But the hack again highlights the growing danger of cyber assaults, particularly on official websites.
Recent cases of data leak
Dominos India 2021– Dominos India, a division of Jubilant FoodWorks, faced a cyberattack on May 22, 2021, which led to the disclosure of information from 180 million orders. The breach exposed order information, email addresses, phone numbers, and credit card information. Although Jubilant FoodWorks acknowledged a security breach, it refuted any illegal access to financial data.
Air India – A cyberattack that affected Air India in May 2021 exposed the personal information of about 4.5 million customers globally. Personal information recorded between August 26, 2011, and February 3, 2021, including names, dates of birth, contact information, passport information, ticket details, frequent flyer information from Star Alliance and Air India, and credit card information, were exposed in the breach.
Bigbasket – BigBasket, an online supermarket, had a data breach in November 2020, compromising the personal information of approximately 20 million consumers. Email IDs, password hashes, PINs, phone numbers, addresses, dates of birth, localities, and IP addresses were among the information released from an insecure database containing over 15 GB of customer data. BigBasket admitted to the incident and reported it to the Bengaluru Cyber Crime Department.
Unacademy – Unacademy, an online learning platform, experienced a data breach in May 2020, compromising the email addresses of approximately 11 million subscribers. While no sensitive information, such as financial data or passwords, was compromised, user data, including IDs, passwords, date joined, last login date, email IDs, names, and user credentials, was. The breach was detected when user accounts were uncovered for sale on the dark web.
2022 Card Data- Cybersecurity researchers from AI-driven Singapore-based CloudSEK found a threat actor offering a database of 1.2 million cards for free on a Dark Web forum for crimes on October 12, 2022. This came after a second problem involving 7.9 million cardholder records that were reported on the BidenCash website. This comprised information pertaining to State Bank of India (SBI) clients. And other well-known companies were among those targeted in high-profile data breach cases that have surfaced in recent years.
Conclusion
Data breach cases are increasing daily, and attackers are mainly attacking the healthcare sectors and health details as they can easily find personal details. This recent CoWIN case has compromised thousands of people’s data. The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences’ systems were compromised by hackers a few months ago. Over 95% of adults have had their vaccinations, according to the most recent data, even if the precise number of persons impacted by the CoWin privacy breach could not be determined.
Executive Summary
A video widely circulated on social media claims to show a confrontation between a Zee News journalist and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Upendra Dwivedi during the Indian Army’s Annual Press Briefing 2026. The video alleges that General Dwivedi made sensitive remarks regarding ‘Operation Sindoor’, including claims that the operation was still ongoing and that diplomatic intervention by former US President Donald Trump had restricted India’s military response. Several social media users shared the clip while questioning the Indian Army’s operational decisions and demanding accountability over the alleged remarks. The CyberPeace concludes that the viral video claiming to show a discussion between a Zee News journalist and Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi on ‘Operation Sindoor’ is misleading and digitally manipulated. Although the visuals were sourced from the Indian Army’s Annual Press Briefing 2026, the audio was artificially created and added later to misinform viewers. The Army Chief did not make any remarks regarding diplomatic interference or limitations on military action during the briefing.
Claim:
An X (formerly Twitter) user, Abbas Chandio (@AbbasChandio__), shared the video on January 14, asserting that it showed a Zee News journalist questioning the Army Chief about the status and outcomes of ‘Operation Sindoor’ during a recent press conference. In the clip, the journalist is purportedly heard challenging the Army Chief over his earlier statement that the operation was “still ongoing,” while the COAS is allegedly heard responding that diplomatic intervention during the conflict limited the Army’s ability to pursue further military action. Here is the link and archive link to the post, along with a screenshot.
The reverse image search also directed to an extended version of the footage uploaded on the official YouTube channel of India Today. The original video was identified as coverage from the Indian Army’s Annual Press Conference 2026, held on January 13 in New Delhi and addressed by COAS General Upendra Dwivedi. Upon reviewing the original press briefing footage, CyberPeace found no instance where a Zee News journalist questioned the Army Chief about ‘Operation Sindoor’. There was also no mention of the statements attributed to General Dwivedi in the viral clip.
In the authentic footage, journalist Anuvesh Rath was seen raising questions related to defence procurement and modernization, not military operations or diplomatic interventions. Here is the link to the original video, along with a screenshot.
To further verify the claim, CyberPeace extracted the audio track from the viral video and analysed it using the AI-based voice detection tool Aurigin. The analysis revealed that the voice heard in the clip was artificially generated, indicating the use of synthetic or manipulated audio. This confirmed that while genuine visuals from the Army’s official press briefing were used, a fabricated audio track had been overlaid to falsely attribute controversial statements to the Army Chief and a Zee News journalist.
Conclusion
The CyberPeace concludes that the viral video claiming to show a discussion between a Zee News journalist and Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi on ‘Operation Sindoor’ is misleading and digitally manipulated. Although the visuals were sourced from the Indian Army’s Annual Press Briefing 2026, the audio was artificially created and added later to misinform viewers. The Army Chief did not make any remarks regarding diplomatic interference or limitations on military action during the briefing. The video is a clear case of digital manipulation and misinformation, aimed at creating confusion and casting doubts over the Indian Army’s official position.
