#FactCheck: Viral video of Unrest in Kenya is being falsely linked with J&K

Introduction

Google India announced sachet loans on the Google Pay application to help small businesses in the country. Google India said that merchants in India often need smaller loans, hence, the tech giant launched sachet loans on the Gpay application. The company will provide loans to small businesses, which can be repaid in easier repayment instalments. To provide the load services, Google Pay has partnered with DMI Finance. This move comes at the Google for India, 2023, the flagship event to launch the Indian interventions planned by the big tech. 

What is a Sachet Loan? 

The loan system is the primary backbone of the global banking system. Since we have seen a massive transition towards the digital mode of transactions and banking operations, many online platforms have emerged. With the advent of QR codes, the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) has been rampantly used by Indians for making small or petty payments. Seeing this, Sachet loans made an advent as well, Sachet loans are essentially small-ticket loans ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh, with repayment tenures between 7 days and 12 months. This nano-credit addresses immediate financial needs and is designed for swift approval and disbursement. Satchel loans are one of the most sought-after loan forms in the Western world. The ease of accessibility and easy repayment options have made it a successful form of money lending, which in turn has sparked the interest of the tech giant Google to execute similar operations in India. 

Google Pay

Pertaining to the fact that UPI payments are the most preferred form of online payment, google came out with GPay in 2013 and now enjoys a user base of 67 million Indians. Google Pay has a 36.10% mobile application market share in India, and 26% of the UPI payments made have been through Google Pay. Google Pay adoption for in-store payments in India was higher in 2023 than it was in early 2019, signalling a growing use among consumers. The numbers shown here refer to the share of respondents who indicated they used Google Pay in the last 12 months, either for POS transactions with a mobile device in stores and restaurants or for online shopping. Eight out of 10 respondents from India indicated they had used Google Pay in a POS setting between April 2022 and March 2023, with an additional seven out of 10 saying they used Google Pay during this same time for online payments.

Pertaining to the Indian spectrum, the following aspects should be kept into consideration: 

• PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm accounted for nearly 96% of all UPI transactions by value in March
• PhonePe remained the top UPI app, processing 407.63 Cr transactions worth INR 7.07 Lakh Cr
• While Google Pay and Paytm retained second and third positions, respectively, Amazon Pay pushed CRED to the fifth spot in terms of the number of transactions
• Walmart-owned PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm continued their dominance in India’s UPI payments space, together processing 94% of payments in March 2023.
• According to data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the top three apps accounted for nearly 96% of all UPI transactions by value. This translates to about 841.91 Cr transactions worth INR 13.44 Lakh Cr between the three apps.

Conclusion

The big tech giant Google.org has been fundamental in creating and provisioning best-in-class services which are easily accessible to all the netizens. Satchel loans are the new services introduced by the platform and the widespread access of Gpay will go a long way in providing financial services and ease to the deprived and needy lot of the Indian population. This transition can also be seen by other payment portals like Paypal and Paytm, which clearly shows India's massive potential in leading the world of online banking and UPI transactions. As per stats, 40% of global online banking transactions take place in India. These aspects, coupled with the cores of Digital India and Make in India, clearly show how India is the global destination for investment in the current era.  

References

• https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/google-enters-retail-loan-business-in-india-11697697999246.html
• https://www.statista.com/statistics/1389649/google-pay-adoption-in-india/#:~:text=Eight%20out%20of%2010%20respondents,same%20time%20for%20online%20payments
• https://playtoday.co/blog/stats/google-pay-statistics/#:~:text=67%20million%20active%20users%20of%20Google%20Pay%20are%20in%20India.&text=Google%20Pay%20users%20in%20India,in%2Dstore%20and%20online%20purchases.
• https://inc42.com/buzz/phonepe-google-pay-paytm-process-94-of-upi-transactions-march-2023/

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Executive Summary:

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A viral video claiming to show Israelis pleading with Iran to "stop the war" is not authentic. As per our research the footage is AI-generated, created using tools like Google’s Veo, and not evidence of a real protest. The video features unnatural visuals and errors typical of AI fabrication. It is part of a broader wave of misinformation surrounding the Israel-Iran conflict, where AI-generated content is widely used to manipulate public opinion. This incident underscores the growing challenge of distinguishing real events from digital fabrications in global conflicts and highlights the importance of media literacy and fact-checking.

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Claim:

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A X verified  user with the handle "Iran, stop the war, we are sorry" posted a video featuring people holding placards and the Israeli flag. The caption suggests that Israeli citizens are calling for peace and expressing remorse, stating, "Stop the war with Iran! We apologize! The people of Israel want peace." The user further claims that Israel, having allegedly initiated the conflict by attacking Iran, is now seeking reconciliation.

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Fact Check:

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The bottom-right corner of the video displays a "VEO" watermark, suggesting it was generated using Google's AI tool, VEO 3. The video exhibits several noticeable inconsistencies such as robotic, unnatural speech, a lack of human gestures, and unclear text on the placards. Additionally, in one frame, a person wearing a blue T-shirt is seen holding nothing, while in the next frame, an Israeli flag suddenly appears in their hand, indicating possible AI-generated glitches.

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We further analyzed the video using the AI detection tool HIVE Moderation, which revealed a 99% probability that the video was generated using artificial intelligence technology. To validate this finding, we examined a keyframe from the video separately, which showed an even higher likelihood of 99% probability of being AI generated. These results strongly indicate that the video is not authentic and was most likely created using advanced AI tools.

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Conclusion:

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The video is highly likely to be AI-generated, as indicated by the VEO watermark, visual inconsistencies, and a 99% probability from HIVE Moderation. This highlights the importance of verifying content before sharing, as misleading AI-generated media can easily spread false narratives.

• Claim: AI generated video of Israelis saying "Stop the War, Iran We are Sorry". ‍
• Claimed On: Social Media‍
• Fact Check:AI Generated Mislead

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Introduction

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has directed all telcos to set up detection systems based on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) technologies in order to identify and control spam calls and text messages from unregistered telemarketers (UTMs).

The TRAI Directed telcos

The telecom regulator, TRAI, has directed all Access Providers to detect Unsolicited commercial communication (UCC)by systems, which is based on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to detect, identify, and act against senders of Commercial Communication who are not registered in accordance with the provisions of the Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (TCCCPR-2018). Unregistered Telemarketers (UTMs) are entities that do not register with Access Providers and use 10-digit mobile numbers to send commercial communications via SMS or calls.

TRAI steps to curb Unsolicited commercial communication

TRAI has taken several initiatives to reduce Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC), which is a major source of annoyance for the public. It has resulted in fewer complaints filed against Registered Telemarketers (RTMs). Despite the TSPs’ efforts, UCC from Unregistered Telemarketers (UTMs) continues. Sometimes, these UTMs use messages with bogus URLs and phone numbers to trick clients into revealing crucial information, leading to financial loss.

To detect, identify, and prosecute all Unregistered Telemarketers (UTMs), the TRAI has mandated that Access Service Providers implement the UCC.

Detect the System with the necessary functionalities within the TRAI’s Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 framework.

Access service providers have implemented such detection systems based on their applicability and practicality. However, because UTMs are constantly creating new strategies for sending unwanted communications, the present UCC detection systems provided by Access Service providers cannot detect such UCC.

TRAI also Directs Telecom Providers to Set Up Digital Platform for Customer Consent to Curb Promotional Calls and Messages.

Unregistered Telemarketers (UTMs) sometimes use messages with fake URLs and phone numbers to trick customers into revealing essential information, resulting in financial loss.

TRAI has urged businesses like banks, insurance companies, financial institutions, and others to re-verify their SMS content templates with telcos within two weeks. It also directed telecom companies to stop misusing commercial messaging templates within the next 45 days.

The telecom regulator has also instructed operators to limit the number of variables in a content template to three. However, if any business intends to utilise more than three variables in a content template for communicating with their users, this should be permitted only after examining the example message, as well as adequate justifications and justification.

In order to ensure consistency in UCC Detect System implementations, TRAI has directed all Access Providers to deploy UCC and detect systems based on artificial intelligence and Machine Learning that are capable of constantly evolving to deal with new signatures, patterns, and techniques used by UTMs.

Access Providers have also been directed to use the DLT platform to share intelligence with others. Access Providers have also been asked to ensure that such UCC Detect System detects senders that send unsolicited commercial communications in bulk and do not comply with the requirements. All Access Providers are directed to follow the instructions and provide an update on actions done within thirty days.

The move by TRAI is to curb the menacing calls as due to this, the number of scam cases is increasing, and now a new trend of scams started as recently, a Twitter user reported receiving an automated call from +91 96681 9555 with the message “This call is from Delhi Police.” It then asked her to stay in the queue since some of her documents needed to be picked up. Then he said he works as a sub-inspector at the Kirti Nagar police station in New Delhi. He then inquired whether she had recently misplaced her Aadhaar card, PAN card, or ATM card, to which she replied ‘no’. The scammer then poses as a cop and requests that she authenticate the last four digits of her card because they have found a card with her name on it. And a lot of other people tweeted about it.

Conclusion

TRAI directed the telcos to check the calls and messages from Unregistered numbers. This step of TRAI will curb the pesky calls and messages and catch the Frauds who are not registered with the regulation. Sometimes the unregistered sender sends fraudulent links, and through these fraudulent calls and messages, the sender tries to take the personal information of the customers, which results in financial losses.