The Aam Aadmi Party’s Mumbai unit deleted an X post about helping students reach their NEET re-examination centres after users pointed out that some of the photos appeared to be AI-edited. BOOM found that two of the three images showed signs of manipulation.
We contacted AAP Mumbai Working President Ruben Mascarenhas, who confirmed that the images were AI-edited but were based on photos from a real event. He shared the original photos with BOOM and stated that the party had taken it down and rectified the error.
The photos were posted as part of AAP Mumbai’s outreach to students appearing for the NEET re-examination on June 21, 2026. The handle had posted the set of photos stating that they had arranged a bus for the aspirants.
What We Found
1) AI-detection Tool Results
We ran the images through Hive Moderation, which flagged one photo as likely AI-generated. The photo showing students seated inside a bus, was flagged as AI-generated by the tool. The photo had visible inconsistencies, including repeated faces, distorted details, and gibberish text.
We also consulted our partners at the Deepfakes Analysis Unit (DAU), who analysed the three images using AI-detection tools. Their analysis indicated that two of the photos were likely created or edited using AI, while the tools were unable to provide a conclusive result for the third image.
2) AAP Mumbai acknowledges photos were AI-edited
BOOM then reached out to AAP Mumbai Working President Ruben Mascarenhas, who acknowledged that the photos had been edited using AI and added that they were based on images from a real event organised on the day of the NEET re-examination.
Mascarenhas shared the original photos with BOOM and said the party had deleted the post after learning that the images had been altered.
“The images were run through an AI tool by an intern from our team who had enhanced the photos. When we got to know about it, we immediately took action and deleted the tweet. It was inadvertently posted,” he said.
“The original photos show our volunteers with the students,” Mascarenhas added. The photos shared with BOOM can be seen below:
