These videos of celebrities promoting gaming/betting apps are deep fakes - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 8, 2024
With the increase in advancements in Artificial Intelligence-related technologies like voice cloning and Generative Adversarial Network (GAN), videos of celebrities endorsing online gaming and betting apps have inundated social media platforms, sparking concerns about their credibility. This article aims to authenticate such claims.
Video 1- Akshay Kumar promoting ‘Aviator Game 1Win’ App:
A video of Indian actor Akshay Kumar promoting an application named ‘Aviator Game 1Win’ is being widely shared on social media platforms. Let’s verify the authenticity of the video.
An internet search using relevant keywords led us to several media reports (here, here, and here) stating that Akshay Kumar’s team has denied his endorsement of such an application and is taking legal action against the misuse of the actor’s identity for false advertisement.
Furthermore, upon conducting a reverse image search of the viral video, we discovered a video with matching visuals uploaded on Akshay Kumar’s official Instagram account on 09 August 2023. In this video, he can be seen promoting his film OMG 2. However, this video was manipulated to create a deep fake video by altering the audio and lip movement to make it appear as if he was endorsing a gaming application.
A post shared by Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar)
Moreover, we subjected the viral video to deep fake video detectors, and they identified it as potentially being a deep fake.
Video 2- Virat Kohli promoting ‘Aviator Game 1Win’ App:
A video of Indian cricketer Virat Kohli promoting an application named ‘Aviator Game 1Win’ is being widely shared on social media platforms. Let’s verify the authenticity of the video.
First, we conducted an online search to determine if Virat Kohli has ever endorsed such a gaming application. We found no reports or mentions of him endorsing such an application on his social media platforms.
Further, we performed a reverse image search of the viral video, which led us to the original video uploaded on the YouTube channel of ‘Graham Bensinger’ on 22 December 2023. In this video, Kohli discusses his personal life and cricket, with no promotion of any gaming application. AI technologies like voice cloning could have been used to alter Kohli’s voice and lip movements to create the false impression of a gaming app promotion.
Earlier, we have also debunked a similar deep fake video of Sachin Tendulkar promoting an online gaming app.
To sum it up, these videos featuring celebrities like Akshay Kumar, Virat Kohli, and Sachin Tendulkar endorsing gaming/betting apps are deep fakes.