#FactCheck- AI-Generated Flyover Video Falsely Shared as Patna Infrastructure

For more than a century, cinema has evolved alongside technology. Sound transformed silent films, colour changed visual storytelling, computer-generated imagery expanded the limits of imagination, and streaming reshaped how audiences experience films. Each transformation brought uncertainty, but Artificial Intelligence represents a different kind of shift. It is not merely changing how films are made; it is beginning to challenge who, or what, gets to create and perform them.

This debate has moved from theory to reality with Tilly Norwood, an AI-generated performer created by Particle 6 through its AI talent division Xicoia. After months of discussion surrounding the role of artificial performers in entertainment, Norwood is now set to headline her own feature film, Misaligned which is a project that places artificial intelligence at the centre of both the production process and the story itself. The film is described as a comedy-drama following an AI character without a tangible existence. The story follows that, guided by another AI character, she begins developing ambitions, emotions, and a desire to understand what it means to become “human” The premise of the movie is intentionally self-reflective. An AI performer, whose very existence has raised questions about authenticity and creativity, will now portray a character experiencing those same conflicts.

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AI as storyteller?

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Using Artificial Intelligence in filmmaking is not recent, for years production studios have used technology for visual effects, editing assistance, restoration, recommendation systems, and production planning. The emergence of AI-generated performers, however, introduces a far more complex question, can AI replace the actors who are core to storytelling?

When Tilly was first introduced at the Zurich film festival in late 2025 by the Dutch producer Eline Van Der Velden, CEO and Founder of Particle 6,  introduced it as a hybrid model of film-making, where there are directors, producers, production team but a "synthetic performer" in the lead role and a comprehensive AI-experts team. Van Der Velden argued that human creativity was not being replaced but supplemented by AI.

This was not well received by the film community. Actors like Emily Blunt and SAG-AFTRA (the Screen Actors Guild- American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) a US labor organization representing roughly 160,000 professionals across the entertainment and media industries, including actors, performers, journalists, musicians, and voice actors, released a statement condemning this project with synthetic performer. They emphasised that ‘creativity is, and should remain, human-centered. The union is opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics.’ 

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The Question of Authenticity

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Acting has historically been understood as an interpretation of human experience. Performers bring personal histories, emotions, cultural backgrounds, and individual perspectives into their roles.  The criticism is that an AI actor does not exist in a tangible form and essentially has no real story or background of any kind. Particle 6 describes Tilly only as a twenty-something who lives in London and loves coffee which is a very shallow context and has no personality at all. The film is also set in the fictional "Tillyverse," not a real place and exists on some cloud system reinforcing the sense that there is no lived reality behind the character.

At their core, AI performers are outputs of generative systems rather than individuals with lived experience or personal artistic interpretation. These systems learn by identifying patterns from vast datasets and generating results based on existing material, which raises questions about whether such performances can be considered original creative expression at all. Tilly Norwood's music video ‘Taking the Lead’ illustrated this gap in practice, drawing attention to inconsistencies in natural emotion, visual continuity, and expression across scenes.

Human actors, by contrast, bring authenticity and emotional depth shaped by real experience and creative interpretation which are qualities that recognition and awards have traditionally been built around. If a performance is produced through algorithms trained on existing creative patterns, a fundamental question follows: what exactly is being celebrated, the technology, the final output, or the humans guiding the system?

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Creativity, Consent, and the Legal Grey Areas

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AI performers also raise significant questions about intellectual property, personality rights, consent, and compensation. Existing legal and contractual frameworks were primarily designed around human performers who are individuals who negotiate compensation, own aspects of their identity, and participate in the wider cultural ecosystem surrounding cinema. However, an AI actor challenges these traditional assumptions. If a digital performer does not possess legal personhood, creative ownership, or independent rights, questions emerge regarding who should receive recognition and financial benefits: the developers, production studios, directors, or the human creators involved in building the technology?

Also if a digital actor’s expressions, movements, or style are influenced by thousands of existing performers, determining ownership becomes complicated. Who controls an AI-generated performance? Who deserves credit? Should performers have rights over how their likeness, voice, or style influences future AI systems?

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Any advantages?

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The most significant advantage of AI-assisted filmmaking may lie in what it offers smaller production houses and independent creators. By reducing certain production costs, AI tools could let filmmakers with limited resources attempt ambitious ideas that were previously out of reach. Beyond this production advantage, however, the acceptance of AI performers themselves remains uncertain. Projects like Misaligned are therefore less a proven shift in cinema than an industry experiment testing how far technology can move into a traditionally human creative space.

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The Future of Cinema: Replacement or Reinvention?

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Every major technological transformation in cinema has created fears about what might be lost, yet cinema has consistently adapted by absorbing new technologies into its storytelling. AI may follow a similar path, but the stakes are different as it does not simply change the tools available to artists, it challenges the definitions of creativity, authorship, and performance itself.

Much of cinema's economic and cultural life is really built on the bond between audiences and actors. It's actors who drive ticket sales, build loyal fan followings, and become cultural figures in their own right, through interviews, public appearances, and the visible journey of training, struggle, and growth that shapes a career. An AI-generated performer can mimic parts of that celebrity image, but it can't actually show up for any of it the way a person can. Handing central creative roles to artificial personalities also raises a fairness question, especially at a time when so many human performers are already struggling to find work.

Whether audiences will really embrace fully synthetic performers as stand-ins for human actors is still an open question. Misaligned may end up being the first real test of that. Early reaction to Tilly Norwood has been largely critical within the industry and among audiences. How viewers respond to Misaligned itself will be an early test of whether that scepticism holds. 

Cinema has always found ways to absorb new technology, but AI is testing something deeper than the tools filmmakers use. As machines get better at telling human stories, the real challenge is making sure the human element behind those stories doesn't get lost.

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References

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• https://theprint.in/feature/tilly-norwood-tillyverse-misaligned-particle6-ai-actor/2980654/
• https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tilly-norwood-ai-generated-actor-feature-film/ 
• https://www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-statement-synthetic-performer
• https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/ai-actor-tilly-norwood-movie-debut-misaligned-1236638719/

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Introduction

Cybercrime in India is developing at a rapid rate in terms of depth and volume, with culprits leveraging technology, anonymity, and social engineering to exploit unsuspecting victims. In a high-profile instance of coordinated police action, the Delhi Police Crime Branch recently cracked a large-scale pan-India cybercrime syndicate with its arms stretching across Delhi, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. The syndicate used to be involved in a range of cybercrimes, from sextortion and online fraud to fake call centres and cloning of bank accounts. With over ₹5 crore of illicit financial transactions revealed, the operation highlights the critical role of proactive cyber policing, data security and public awareness in India's war against digital crime.

A Multi-State Operation: Crime Network across States

On May 24, 2025, on receiving a tip-off, the Delhi Police conducted a specific raid in New Ashok Nagar to catch a suspect consignment said to be used for cybercrime. This resulted in a multi-layered investigation that revealed a large crime syndicate. Police recovered 28 mobile phones, 30 SIM cards, 15 debit cards, 8 cheque books, and two laptops, equipment said to have been used in crimes ranging from sextortion to fake loan scams.

Three of the initial arrests revealed the use of fake kits like pre-activated SIMs and counterfeit documents to create phoney digital identities and bank accounts. They were being used to bypass KYC norms and make untraceable transactions, illustrating how cyber thieves exploit digital identity as well as financial authentication loopholes in the system.

Fake Call Centre Falsely Claiming to be a Lender

Tracing the leads, the investigation then led the police to Mundka, a semi-residential and industrial area in Delhi, where a fake call centre in the name of a loan assistance service was operating. Suspects were allegedly operating the business. With deceptive scripts, their telemarketing staff lured victims with the offer of instant personal loans. When a prospective victim replied favorably and was willing to go further, he was asked to send identification documents and was then forced to pay a "processing fee." Once the payment was made, the accused would cut off contact immediately, leaving the victims shortchanged.

During the raid, seven individuals were apprehended, six of whom were trained tele-callers with a reasonable level of technical skill. In spite of possessing educational certificates and receiving a meagre pay of between ₹8,000 and ₹9,000 a month, these individuals had been enticed into the cybercrime network, demonstrating how educated youth are now more commonly being exploited or recruited by such scam networks in return for quick money.

Uncovering the Sextortion Racket

The most shocking disclosure was that of a sextortion racket being run from New Ashok Nagar, a residential area located in West Delhi, New Delhi. Suspects tricked victims with fraudulent Facebook profiles, contacted them on Messenger, and then changed to WhatsApp video calls. Pornographic videos were played on such calls while the reactions of the victim were secretly recorded. These were later utilised for extortion by threatening to share them with the whole world. The ability of such a group to blackmail and psychologically manipulate the victims indicates the psychological nature of cybercrime and the need for online safety education.

Impact and Significance: A Wake-Up Call for Law Enforcement and Public Awareness

This crackdown is uncovering some ominous trends that reflect the changing face of cybercrime in India. The syndicate's framework highlights the organised and multi-state nature of cybercrime, mostly operating through systemic loopholes. Misuse of social media sites and fintech apps is also rampant, and these are being leveraged for scams, sextortion, and monetary fraud. One of the most concerning trends is young people becoming more engaged in cybercrime, either out of economic necessity or enticed by easy cash. Most of these scams increasingly involve psychological manipulation, particularly in sextortion, where shame and fear are employed as tools. Digital identity fraud has also been facilitated through false documents and lenient Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, with fraudsters being able to evade verification processes.

These observations underscore the necessity of strong reporting channels. There also needs to be an urgent implementation of stringent verification standards in the telecom and banking industries, along with extensive community-level digital literacy initiatives to sensitise citizens to online threats and preventive measures.

CyberPeace Vision: Building a Safe Digital India

India needs a multi-level cyber security approach, comprising people awareness, AI-driven detection systems, and coordination of inter-state policing. Precedence needs to be given to:

• Capacity building of cyber police units.
• Real-time exchange of scam intelligence among law enforcement.
• Schools, colleges, and workplaces should be aware of digital hygiene.
• Rehabilitation of cyber-offenders, especially youth.
• Countering online misinformation and disinformation through fact-checking and public education campaigns
• Ensuring inclusivity in cyber safety policies so vulnerable populations, including rural users, senior citizens, and linguistic minorities, are not left behind

The breakdown of the syndicate is a major victory, but the absence of difficulty with which these networks function highlights the need for cybercrime prevention initiatives, not after the fact. 

Conclusion 

The Delhi Police bust of a pan-India cybercrime gang is evidence of the increasing reach and audacity of cyber crooks from one corner of India to another. From sextortion and social engineering to financial fraud and identity theft on the web, the bust demonstrates how deep and pervasive cybercrime gangs have become. It is also a reminder that anyone can get entangled and that education, awareness, and early reporting are our best defence. With India's online presence expanding day by day, our collective cyber awareness must keep pace. The fight against cybercrime will not be won only by arrests, but through a national effort to secure our digital spaces.

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References

1. https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/delhi-police-cyber-crime-syndicate-10047218/
2. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/delhi-police-bust-pan-india-cybercrime-syndicate/article69652694.ece#:~:text=The%20Delhi%20police%20have%20dismantled,and%20an%20orchestrated%20sextortion%20racket.
3. https://cybercrime.gov.in/
4. https://www.ncrb.gov.in/
5. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/save/online-scams-are-on-the-rise-learn-about-the-latest-tricks-fraudsters-are-using-to-identify-frauds-and-protect-yourself/articleshow/114162295.cms?from=mdr

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Executive Summary

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A purported statement attributed to former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is going viral on social media. The post claims that Johnson said about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “Modi bows under pressure.” It also attributes a comparison between Jawaharlal Nehru and Modi to Johnson, portraying Nehru as more courageous. A research done by the Research Wing of the CyberPeace found the viral claim to be false. During the research, the team examined Boris Johnson’s interview at the ET World Leaders Forum 2026, along with media reports related to the interview. The available transcript contains no remark by Johnson saying “Modi bows under pressure” or anything similar. On the contrary, he praised the changes and development taking place in India.

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Claim:

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A user on Instagram shared the viral claim, writing: “The purported statement by former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has intensified the debate over India’s foreign policy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. The viral claim describes Nehru’s foreign policy as visionary while accusing the Modi government of bowing under pressure and taking shortcuts. The statement has triggered political reactions on social media.” The link to the post, its archive link, and a screenshot are provided below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Dcdo_TGy-W0/ 

https://archive.ph/9aycb 

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Fact Check

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To verify the authenticity of the viral claim, the Desk examined the available transcript and reports of Boris Johnson’s interview at the ET World Leaders Forum 2026. The Desk found that Johnson also praised India’s current situation. He said that India is going through a “very good period under very strong and stable leadership.” He described India’s progress as “a really wonderful story” and expressed optimism about the country’s future.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/et-wlf-2026-india-us-uk-must-work-together-to-find-a-way-out-of-west-asia-crisis/articleshow/133476402.cms?utm_source=chatgpt.com 

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During the interview, Johnson discussed several international issues, including India-UK relations, US-UK ties, NATO defence spending, the Iran war and the Ukraine war. The available interview transcript contains no statement from him saying that “Modi bows under pressure” or that Nehru was more courageous than Modi. Johnson also referred to Jawaharlal Nehru in the context of India-Russia relations. He recalled that the late Queen Elizabeth II had once shared an anecdote about a conversation she had with Nehru in the 1950s, during which Nehru reportedly told her that India would always stand by Russia and that some things never change.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/the-world-after-the-west-boris-johnson-on-putin-trump-brexit-and-india-et-wlf-2026/videoshow/133419904.cms?utm_source=chatgpt.com&from=mdr 

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Conclusion

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Boris Johnson did not make any statement at the ET World Leaders Forum 2026 suggesting that “Modi bows under pressure” or that “Nehru had courage.” On the contrary, he praised India’s progress and spoke positively about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. Johnson did mention Nehru during the conversation, but his reference was in the context of India-Russia relations and an old conversation between Nehru and the late Queen Elizabeth II. He did not compare Nehru with Modi, nor did he criticise Modi. Therefore, the claim circulating on social media attributing the statement “Nehru had courage, Modi bows under pressure” to Boris Johnson is false.

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