Viral images of Jyoti Malhotra with PM Modi spark outrage | Cyber expert shares how to detect and debunk fake images

Images have been going viral showing Jyoti Malhotra, YouTuber booked for allegedly spying for Pakistan, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

The loop of fake news and fake images being shared on social media has taken a new turn.

In a viral picture, PM Modi is seen standing with a group of top gaming influencers in April 2024 and as per the claims, Jyoti Malhotra was seen standing with the prime minister.

However, after BOOM fact checked, it was revealed that the woman seen with PM Modi is gamer Payal Dhare, dismissing the fake claims being made on social media.

In another image, Jyoti Malhotra's face was edited and being superimposed onto a photo of Dimple Yadav, wife of Akhilesh Yadav, holding party's manifesto during its launch in January 2017.

Jyoti Malhotra, an Indian YouTuber booked for allegedly spying for Pakistan and sharing sensitive information with Pakistani intelligence.

As these fake images take over the internet, differentiating between the real and altered images has been getting difficult. People generally believe what they see on social media as they cannot always fact check it.

However, Press Information Bureau (PIB) factcheck put efforts to verify numerous fake news as well as fake images during the India-Pakistan conflict that happened after the Pahalgam terror attack.

But, not everything can be fact checked. A cyber expert has shared how you can detect and debunk fake images using a simple technique to stay alert and aware from such information.

Mukesh Choudhary, CEO of CyberVeer Technologies while speaking with WION, stressed that AI has made it quite easy for anyone to modify pictures now. But creating awareness remains important.

"To identify a fake and a real picture. Go to images.google.com, upload that picture on google lens and then you can verify from the available sources on the internet and can easily compare that if the original source is available, it can be factchecked through that," he said.

He stressed that this technical is called "Reverse image search". "This is the easiest way someone can verify," the expert added. "However, at times, pixel quality and editing mistakes, these things can also be checked."

Noting how PM Modi got entangled in the fake news propaganda, he said, not just Modi, US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have been a victim of such fake images.

"A common man or a public figure can be a victim of such superimposed, AI or deepfake related content," he said.

Highlighting the recent India-Pakistan conflict, he told WION that in this war-like situation we were in, "the trusted platforms were the press briefing by Home Ministry, Defence Ministry and External Affairs Minister, and their official Twitter and social media handles."

He concluded that people need to understand what are the trusted sources. It is a shared responsibility and everyone should understand this.