India's PIB Debunks '₹60,000-a-Day' Investment Scheme as Another Deepfake Video Featuring Finance Minister Surfaces

The fact-checking unit of India’s Press Information Bureau (PIB) has issued a warning to internet users regarding a digitally manipulated video featuring Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The AI-generated clip falsely portrays her promoting an investment scheme that claims to offer ₹60,000 in 24 hours and ₹1 million a month.

According to PIB Fact Check, the video is false and misleading, having been digitally altered to misrepresent the minister. In an official post on X, the unit stated: “A video on Facebook falsely shows Union Finance Minister promoting an 'investment program' that promises easy daily income. The Finance Minister or the Government of India has NOT launched or endorsed any such scheme!”

source: X/PIB Fact Check posts a warning

PIB urged the public not to fall for such get-rich-quick traps and advised users to verify any financial claims before taking action. To help identify manipulated content, PIB recommended watching for distorted lip movements, unnatural voice synchronization, and inconsistencies in the date, background, or logos appearing in the video.

Additionally, the public is reminded to verify website links, as India’s official government domains always end with .gov.in. PIB also advised searching for such claims on trusted sources before sharing or acting on them.

This warning comes amid a surge in AI-driven scams. Last month, a resident of Uttarakhand was reportedly defrauded of ₹6.6 million in an online investment scam involving a deepfake video of Sitharaman. In August, PIB flagged similar AI-generated content in which fraudsters used manipulated videos of Indian officials, including Sitharaman, to promote a trading platform named “QuantumAl.”