A photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi purporting to show him peering through a microscope is fake and has been created using generative-AI tool Midjourney.
The fake photo is the latest in a flurry of fake hyper-realistic AI-generated images created using online tools that fact-checkers worry could be used to spread disinformation.
The synthetic photo, which shows the PM wearing a lab coat, was tweeted by a Twitter user claiming that the image shows the PM pretending to be a doctor and looking through a microscope incorrectly.
Santosh Kumar Luthra tweeted the photo with a Hindi caption, which translates to, "the country's voters and the world is watching the prime minister disguised as a doctor...the eye and the lens are not aligned. If any opposition leader was seen doing the same news channels would have created a hue and cry for three days."
(Original Hindi text - देश के मतदाता और दुनिया देख रही है भारत के प्रधानमंत्री जी डॉक्टर के वेश में लेंस और आंख का मिलान नहीं आंख कहां और लेंस कहां कौन सी जांच या रिसर्च। लेंस दोनों आंखों के बीच में आ रहा है। कोई विपक्षी पार्टी का इस तरह की जांच करते हुए दिखाया जाता 3 दिन तक न्यूज़ चैनल पूरी दुनिया में ढोल बजा देता।)
FACT CHECK
BOOM found that the photo has been made using generative AI tool Midjourney AI and that it is not a real image of the PM.
We spotted a watermark containing the letters S.A.H.I.D. at the bottom right corner of the image.
We did a keyword search on Facebook using "AI Modi photos" and found a Facebook post featuring the same viral photo.
The post included other AI-generated photos showing Modi in different professions such as an astronaut, a teacher, a doctor, a hacker, a guitarist, a policeman etc.
The post credited an Instagram handle @sahixd for the photos.
The username @sahixd led us to the Instagram page of digital creator Sahid SK. Click here to view an archive.
The account describes itself as a digital creator and an AI enthusiast. It has posted many synthetic images of famous people using AI.
We found the viral photo in a post dated April 2, 2023.
The caption of the post reads, "Artificial intelligence envisions Narendra Modi in diverse professions through the creation of different images."
Sahid also posted the same on his Facebook page.
The post also includes the hashtag Midjourney. Midjourney AI is a generative AI tool creating hyperrealistic images with simple text prompts. BOOM has debunked a number of fake images including fake images of the PM created using Midjourney.
BOOM also used Midjourney to recreate the same image. The results are very similar to the viral photo.
