Fact Check: This Mukesh Ambani video is a deepfake, it sells a scam

A video of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani allegedly endorsing a new investment scheme is making the rounds on social media.

In the video, he can be heard saying, “An important announcement for all residents of India. I’m announcing a new investment project for the people of India. I personally support the project where everyone can earn without risks and appoint Sona Agarwal as the head of the project. Go to Sona’s Telegram channel and write that you are from Ambani Mushket. She will help you make money.” An archive of this post can be seen here.

However, India Today found that Mukesh Ambani has not endorsed any such investment scheme. The viral video is a “deepfake”.

THE DEEPFAKE

On closely observing the viral video, one can easily identify that the audio used in it does not resemble the actual voice of Mukesh Ambani. The lip sync of the video also doesn’t look natural.

Next, we did a keyword search and found that Mukesh Ambani’s video in the viral video was taken from the video of the 40th Annual General Meeting of Reliance Industries Limited. It was posted on the official YouTube channel of Reliance Jio on July 21, 2017. Ambani’s outfit in this video was the same as that in the viral video.

We found the transcript of Ambani’s speech at the event on the website of Reliance Industries Limited. In this speech, there was no mention of any Sona Agarwal.

Thus, it became clear that this video was a deepfake, possibly created using an AI application.

IDENTITY THEFT

The thumbnail of the video was that of a woman standing with Mukesh Ambani. Using reverse search, we found this image on the stock photo website Getty Images. In the original image, however, it was Mukesh Ambani’s wife Nita Ambani standing next to him. It became clear that the photo of a different woman was digitally added over Nita Ambani’s face.

The viral video contained the link to a Telegram channel called “Indian Money Coach” that promotes get-rich-quick schemes. The pinned message in this channel was the image of the same woman in a glamorous outfit. The text said, “I never hide my face, my family or my students results. That’s why hundreds of people trust me.” The display picture was also of the same woman.

We reverse-searched the photo in the display picture and found it on the Instagram account of Sukhneett Wadhwa, a fashion blogger with more than 1,70,000 followers. Multiple images and videos from this account were used in the Telegram channel being run in the name of Sona Agarwal. We also found the photo of Wadhwa that was added over Nita Ambanai’s face.

Most of the content on the Telegram channel was posted by the user @business_sona. We asked the account about why they were using photos of a fashion blogger. They did not respond.

THE SCAM

“Sona” claims to make people rich through betting on sports events. When we contacted this user, they told us that they earned money by placing bets on matches. They went on to make tall claims of great profits. They said that the minimum investment amount in their scheme was Rs 10,000, which would be converted to Rs 1 lakh in just four hours.

It’s noteworthy that, in the past, many people reported in a consumer complaints forum about being duped by a “Sona Agarwal”. Most of the people stated in their complaints that they were promised that their money would be doubled.