Dheeshma Puzhakkal heads the fact check team at NewsMeter. Commencing her career as a tech writer in 2018, she transitioned into journalism in 2019 as a multimedia journalist with NewsMeter. In 2020, she joined India Today, where she advanced to the position of Principal Correspondent within the organisation's fact check team. Dheeshma specialises in analysing maps and satellite imagery, and gathering open-source intelligence for investigative journalism. Her reporting extends across diverse domains, including health, consumer affairs, data, politics, and law enforcement agencies. Throughout her career, Dheeshma has proven herself as a seasoned fact-checker, delving into misinformation surrounding various topics, including elections, cross-border conflicts, and communalism. Her contributions have earned recognition, with Members of Parliament, ministers, and embassies acknowledging and sharing her findings.

Dheeshma Puzhakkal

Dheeshma Puzhakkal heads the fact check team at NewsMeter. Commencing her career as a tech writer in 2018, she transitioned into journalism in 2019 as a multimedia journalist with NewsMeter. In 2020, she joined India Today, where she advanced to the position of Principal Correspondent within the organisation's fact check team. Dheeshma specialises in analysing maps and satellite imagery, and gathering open-source intelligence for investigative journalism. Her reporting extends across diverse domains, including health, consumer affairs, data, politics, and law enforcement agencies. Throughout her career, Dheeshma has proven herself as a seasoned fact-checker, delving into misinformation surrounding various topics, including elections, cross-border conflicts, and communalism. Her contributions have earned recognition, with Members of Parliament, ministers, and embassies acknowledging and sharing her findings.

    Dheeshma Puzhakkal

    OSINT Pulse: March 2026 I When everything starts looking fake
    OSINT Pulse: March 2026 I When everything starts looking fake

    Hyderabad: March was not an easy month for verification work. A large share of what we dealt with was linked to the conflict involving Iran, Israel...

    By Dheeshma Puzhakkal  Published on 1 April 2026 8:43 PM IST


    OSINT Pulse February 2026 I Archives Under Scrutiny, New Tools, and What Voice AI Changes
    OSINT Pulse February 2026 I Archives Under Scrutiny, New Tools, and What Voice AI Changes

    Hyderabad: February brought a mix of disruption, new utilities and research insights for the OSINT community.Wikipedia’s decision to blacklist...

    By Dheeshma Puzhakkal  Published on 1 March 2026 3:17 PM IST


    OSINT Pulse January 2026 | Wrong first steps into new year with obscenity and misidentification
    OSINT Pulse January 2026 | Wrong first steps into new year with obscenity and misidentification

    Hyderabad: A slightly belated Happy New Year to everyone who lives and breathes open-source investigations. Welcome to the first OSINT Pulse of...

    By Dheeshma Puzhakkal  Published on 1 Feb 2026 9:53 PM IST


    Fact Check: Woman in Iran removes burqa, shows explicit message against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei? No, video is from Paris
    Fact Check: Woman in Iran removes burqa, shows explicit message against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei? No, video is from Paris

    A video claiming to show an act of defiance by a woman in Iran against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei amid the ongoing protests has gone viral.

    By Dheeshma Puzhakkal  Published on 13 Jan 2026 4:07 PM IST


    ā€˜Hey Grok, undress her’: How a viral trend on X turned AI into a tool for sexual abuse
    ā€˜Hey Grok, undress her’: How a viral trend on X turned AI into a tool for sexual abuse

    Far from ā€˜AI experimentation,’ the practice has raised urgent concerns about consent, privacy and the weaponisation of Artificial Intelligence to...

    By Dheeshma Puzhakkal  Published on 4 Jan 2026 1:59 PM IST


    OSINT Pulse December 2025 | A year that rewired the information space
    OSINT Pulse December 2025 | A year that rewired the information space

    Advanced tools like Veo and Nano Banana significantly raised the quality of synthetic video and imagery.

    By Dheeshma Puzhakkal  Published on 31 Dec 2025 12:11 PM IST


    OSINT Pulse: November 2025 I How AI is reshaping evidence and information
    OSINT Pulse: November 2025 I How AI is reshaping evidence and information

    Global research from the World Bank pointed to widening gaps in AI access and talent, raising concerns about who benefits from current advances.

    By Dheeshma Puzhakkal  Published on 30 Nov 2025 4:15 PM IST


    OSINT Pulse: October 2025 I Tracking AI, deepfakes and the fight for digital transparency
    OSINT Pulse: October 2025 I Tracking AI, deepfakes and the fight for digital transparency

    The Indian government has proposed new rules to help users clearly identify AI-generated or synthetically altered content online.

    By Dheeshma Puzhakkal  Published on 31 Oct 2025 5:23 PM IST


    OSINT Pulse: September 2025 | Double-edged role of chatbots in open-source investigations
    OSINT Pulse: September 2025 | Double-edged role of chatbots in open-source investigations

    Hyderabad: September has been a busy month in the world of open-source intelligence.From new research exposing the limits of chatbots in verifying...

    By Dheeshma Puzhakkal  Published on 30 Sept 2025 11:55 AM IST


    OSINT Pulse: August 2025 I Chatbot leaks, human tragedy and tools for investigators
    OSINT Pulse: August 2025 I Chatbot leaks, human tragedy and tools for investigators

    Hyderabad: This month in AI has been unsettling. It began with reports of private chat leaks from ChatGPT, followed soon after by similar breaches...

    By Dheeshma Puzhakkal  Published on 31 Aug 2025 5:42 PM IST


    OSINT Pulse: July 2025 | Agentic AI, smarter maps and tools to speed up investigations
    OSINT Pulse: July 2025 | Agentic AI, smarter maps and tools to speed up investigations

    With each passing month, new tools and updates continue to reshape how OSINT professionals and journalists gather and verify information.

    By Dheeshma Puzhakkal  Published on 31 July 2025 5:03 PM IST


    OSINT Pulse: June 2025 l Veo 3 misuse, Google’s ClaimReview fallout and archiving innovations
    OSINT Pulse: June 2025 l Veo 3 misuse, Google’s ClaimReview fallout and archiving innovations

    Hyderabad: Last month, I wrote about Google’s Veo 3 and the concerns around how realistic AI‑generated videos could be misused to spread...

    By Dheeshma Puzhakkal  Published on 30 Jun 2025 4:17 PM IST


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