Amid the Cockroach Janta Party protests and the ensuing police crackdown, a viral video of a woman in a white saree and a revealing, low-cut blouse speaking to reporters began showing up on Instagram. This was among the many photos and videos of the woman.
Right-wing accounts quickly amplified these visuals, holding up her outfit as proof of the "kind of people" attending the protest and mocking both her and, by extension, the protesters themselves.
But the woman was not real.
BOOM found at least six different AI-generated women, all wearing the same outfit, whose faces had been grafted onto real footage from people who were at the protest. Yet these clips have managed to attract millions of views, which are then carefully directed toward Telegram channels and other platforms that offer paid explicit content.
The real protesters' ordeal extended beyond the police brutality they faced on July 20. Since then, several young women who took part in the protests have been doxxed and subjected to online harassment and trolling by BJP supporters and other right-wing accounts for speaking out.
Synthetic Supporters, Real Protest Footage
The Instagram account @divyankaha posted the most viral video, which has over 24.4 million views and 5500 shares. “Speaking about politics, won't ruin your aesthetic” the caption reads.
Its feed was carefully curated to make the AI-generated saree-clad woman appear to be a genuine CJP supporter at Jantar Mantar.
The posts attracted hundreds of sexualised comments, "Trying to seduce d. pardhan to resign" and "Even borders can't stop us from joining the protest."
The account was designed to funnel attention toward paid content. While revealing outfits previously drove engagement, the online traction generated by the CJP movement served a similar purpose. A link in its bio directs users to a CreatorApp Club page offering “exclusive” and “unseen” pornographic content
Another account, @sirfseerat, built a similar persona around the saree-clad woman. In one post, she coyly stands beside a police officer and is framed as one of the 70 CJP supporters who the Delhi Police detained. She proclaims that even the police could not wipe the “besharam smirk” off her face.
@sirfseerat too uses the fabricated persona to promote sexually explicit paid content. Before the CJP protest, events like the FIFA World Cup did the trick. A link in its bio leads users to a Telegram group where they can spend in-app currency to view images of Seerat that promise to make them “feel a tinkle in their mind and body”.
The protestor persona also makes an appearance in the Telegram group. In a post from July 23, Seerat is leaning against a Mumbai Police van, in the same outfit as model Rhiya Ahir who blocked a police van to free protesters who were detained by the Mumbai Police.
BOOM analysed these visuals as well as other versions posted by @hey.siya_2.0, @annika0022, and @heyanshie.2, using OpenAI's Verify tool, which concluded that the images were synthetic.
We also traced the original images onto which these AI women were superimposed.
BOOM reached out to the Instagram handles for comment. This article will be updated upon receiving a response.
Suggestive camera angles, provocative clothing, and the intense online attention surrounding the CJP protest created a potent mix that pushed these fabricated personas to a far wider audience.
From there, the visuals reached right-wing accounts, which repurposed them to attack protesters—particularly women.
From Virality to Vilification
“This is not a protest, but a body exhibition,” X user @Sravad wrote. Another user, @INDVivekPandey, questioned the woman’s upbringing and made disparaging remarks about her parents.
The response to these synthetic women was also extended to the real women who had participated in the protest, several of whom were detained and assaulted by the police.
Social media posts repeatedly focused on the woman’s blue blouse and white saree, using sexualised and derogatory language. The images and clips were also used to question the conduct and credibility of women who participated in the protest, diverting attention from the police action against them at Jantar Mantar.
BOOM has reached out to Meta with queries around whether these accounts violate its policies on synthetic media and non-consensual sexual content, and will update this article once a response is received. None of the four Instagram accounts named above had responded at the time of publication.