Fact Check: Google, Indian govt launch ‘Google Invest’; PM Modi, Sundar Pichai endorse platform? No, video is deepfake
A video allegedly showing Firstpost journalist Palki Sharma claiming that the Government of India and Google launched an investment platform called ‘Google Invest’ is going viral.
By M Ramesh Naik
Claim:Google and the Government of India launched ‘Google Invest’ with endorsements from PM Modi and Sundar Pichai.
Fact:The claim is false. The video was created using deepfake technology to mislead people.
Hyderabad: A video is circulating on social media that appears to be a news report featuring Firstpost journalist Palki Sharma. In the video, she claims that Google, in collaboration with the Indian government and with prime minister Narendra Modi’s support, has launched an investment platform called ‘Google Invest.’
The viral video also shows Sundar Pichai allegedly promoting ‘Google Invest’ and guaranteeing a return of Rs 1,90,000 per month with an initial investment of just Rs 21,000. He supposedly states that the platform is ‘fully automated’ and ‘designed to provide stable passive income for every Indian.’
A Facebook user shared the video with the caption: “For Indian citizens only. Seats for registration are limited!” (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The video is a deepfake.
While the Facebook post included a link which does not load, a keyword search did not yield any credible reports or government announcements regarding an investment platform called ‘Google Invest.’ There were no mentions of such an initiative by Google, PM Modi or Sundar Pichai.
Upon closely examining the video, we observed that the facial movements of both Palki Sharma and Sundar Pichai appeared unnatural and did not sync correctly with their body language. These are clear indicators of a deepfake.
We ran the video through AI detection tools: Hive Moderation determined the video is 99.9 per cent likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content.
Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector ranked the audio’s authenticity at 1 out of 100, confirming that the speech was AI-generated.
A reverse image search of PM Modi and Sundar Pichai from the viral video led us to an October 16, 2023, article by News18 titled ‘PM Modi, Sundar Pichai Discuss Expanding Electronics Manufacturing Ecosystem in India’.
The viral video used the same photo of PM Modi and Sundar Pichai but with a different background.
Additionally, a reverse image search of Sundar Pichai’s clip led us to a Google blog post from October 23, 2021, titled ‘Climate change is humanity’s next big moonshot’.
The editor’s note in the blog stated, “Google CEO Sundar Pichai spoke at YouTube’s Dear Earth event, sharing ways Google is working to solve climate change and why he’s optimistic we can make meaningful progress. Below is a transcript of his remarks.”
This confirmed that the video of Sundar Pichai in the viral clip was taken from an unrelated speech and manipulated to spread misinformation.
NewsMeter concludes that the claim is false. The video is a deepfake created to mislead people into believing that Google and the Government of India launched an investment platform.
