#FactCheck - AI-Generated Video Falsely Claims Death of Iran’s Supreme Leader
Executive Summary
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was reportedly killed in a major attack carried out by Israel and the United States, with claims circulating that Iranian state media confirmed his death early Sunday morning. Amid these claims, a video is being widely shared on social media. The viral video shows a body trapped under debris. Users sharing the clip claim that the body seen in the footage is that of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. However, research conducted by CyberPeace found the viral claim to be false. Our research revealed that the video is not authentic but AI-generated.
Claim:
On March 1, 2026, an Instagram user shared the viral video with the caption: “Shaheed Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei — Neither fled nor hid in a bunker, embraced death like a brave man.” The link to the post and its archived version are provided below along with a screenshot.
Fact Check:
Upon closely examining the viral video, we noticed several visual irregularities and technical inconsistencies. This raised suspicion about its authenticity. We then scanned the video using the AI detection tool Hive Moderation. The results indicated that approximately 83 percent of the content showed signs of being AI-generated.
To further verify the claim, we also analyzed the video using another AI detection tool, WasItAI. The findings similarly suggested that the video was generated using artificial intelligence.
Conclusion:
Our research establishes that the viral video is not real. It has been artificially generated using AI and is being shared with misleading claims.
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Introduction
Taj Hotels Group is well known for its luxurious ambience and old-world grace and charm, blended with contemporary comforts and amenities for its guests or customers. But what can make all the netizens perplexed is the recent data breach incident which took place in Tata-owned Taj hotels. The hotel suffer from a data breach that compromises nearly 1.5 million customers' data which includes addresses, membership IDs, mobile numbers and other personally identifiable information, according to sources. This news was brought to light which raised concerns about the privacy and data protection of personal data of individuals. We are living in a space influenced by advanced technology and digital communication which throws a concern or challenge to secure the personal information of individuals.
Unveiling the incident
Tata-owned Taj Hotels group has suffered a data breach that compromise information of over 1.5 million customers, according to a news report. A bad actor or entity going by the name “Dnacookies” claimed data set contains data from the 2014-2020 period and has not been disclosed anywhere till now. Such personal data includes name, address, customer ID, mobile number and other personally identifiable information. This shows the risks or challenges of data protection and security. The incidents raise an alarm about the risks and vulnerabilities that might be faced even by the big corporate giants. The bad actor with the handle “Dnacookies” also demanded a ransom of a sum of about Rs 4.16 lakh from the Taj hotel group. In response to the incident, a spokesperson from the concerned hotel group said that we have been made aware of someone claiming possession of a limited data customer data set, which is non-sensitive in nature. Investigation is underway and relevant authorities have been notified about the incident.
A demand for ransom
The report from CNBC-TV18 clears that the bad actor not only purloined the data but also demanded around 4.16 lakh as a ransom for the database. Along with this, the bad actor kept three conditions ahead. Firstly there has to be a middleman for a negotiable deal secondly the data cannot be split either the entire data has to be taken with the ransom demand or no data at all. Thirdly additional samples of data will not be provided. Further, the spokesperson of Indian Hotel Company Limited mentioned that they have been escalated with the fact that someone is claiming authority in a limited data set. The bad actor claimed that the database contains information from 2014- 2020 which has been kept confidential till now. The audacity of the bad actor went to such an extent that the sample containing one thousand rows of unique entries from the bad actor dataset was also provided by the bad actor as proof of the deed. This incident underlines the growing threat in cyberspace and the urgency for individuals, organizations or entities to priorities data security measures and maintain cyber resilience.
Personal Data on Stake
Such data is the personal information of the individuals and also constitutes the personal tastes and preferences of individuals which can be exploited. The biggest gush of winds the hotel and individuals face by such a data breach is not only the volume of data compromised but also the potential ways it can get misused and exploited against the hotel or its customers by cyber crooks. This paves the way for cybercriminals to put forward any demand knowing the sensitivity of the data. Followed by creating a dilemmatic situation for the affected entities to either accept the ransom demands or to stand against ransom. Since the risks are high, going ahead with any of these situations can have an adverse impact on the security of personal data. The organisation or entities holding the personal data need to make sure that data under their realm is well protected and secured.
While the organisation has to sail through the aftermath of this breach, such incidents also pose a challenge for the organisation to maintain the trust and reputation of the organization since these incidents question the cyber security posture of the organisation. It is suggested to be transparent with its stakeholders, and open about the vulnerabilities and steps taken against this. They should also discuss the amplified step added for safeguarding their customer's personal data. Since Taj is well known for its out-of-the-box luxury and for providing comfort to its customers it should take a step ahead to reinforce its digital infrastructure to ensure the security of data.
Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023
The newly enacted Digital Personal Data Act, 2023 put certain obligations on data fiduciaries to take reasonable measures to maintain the security of personal data. The Act also requires to inform about the data breach to the data protection board constituted under the Act. The Act aims to protect the individual's digital personal data. The Act casts certain obligations on data principals and data fiduciaries. The Act provides penalty upto 250 crores in case of a data breach. The Act aims to provide consent-based data collection techniques. The Act also establishes the Data Protection Board to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Act and address grievances.
Conclusion
Data breach in such a big giant in the market serves as an alarming concern to be more cautious and proactively take precautionary measures to protect the security of data and compliance with data protection laws and regulations. We are living in an era where digital security is as important as the basic fundamental rights of an individual. Taj Hotels Group has actively taken steps to handle the aftermath of the data breach by informing the incident to law enforcement agencies and taking necessary steps. It is also on our part to be more aware, and vigilant about our personal data. Entities need to ensure compliance and measures to protect personal data and overall ensure a true cyber-safe & digital environment.
References
Executive Summary
A deepfake video is being widely circulated on social media with a false claim that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar admitted in a podcast interview that India was surprised by Pakistan’s counter-response during “Operation Sindoor” and suffered some losses. However, a fact-check by CyberPeace Research Wing has found the claim to be fake. The research shows that AI-generated audio has been used to misrepresent the External Affairs Minister’s remarks.
Claim
A Facebook user shared the viral video claiming that in a recent podcast with journalist Smita Prakash, Jaishankar admitted that Pakistan’s aggressive response during Operation Sindoor had caught India off guard.
Fact Check
A review of the original interview on ANI’s YouTube channel shows that the conversation between Smita Prakash and S. Jaishankar was uploaded on May 24, 2024—well before Operation Sindoor.
Operation Sindoor reportedly began on May 7, 2025. In the original video, there is no mention of Operation Sindoor or any Pakistani counter-response, making the viral claim baseless. Further analysis using AI detection tools such as Hive Moderation and Hiya indicated that the audio in the viral clip is likely AI-generated, suggesting manipulation of the original content.
Conclusion
The viral video is fake. AI-generated audio has been used to alter an old interview and falsely attribute statements to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
Introduction
The first activity one engages in while using social media is scrolling through their feed and liking or reacting to posts. Social media users' online activity is passive, involving merely reading and observing, while active use occurs when a user consciously decides to share information or comment after actively analysing it. We often "like" photos, posts, and tweets reflexively, hardly stopping to think about why we do it and what information it contains. This act of "liking" or "reacting" is a passive activity that can spark an active discourse. Frequently, we encounter misinformation on social media in various forms, which could be identified as false at first glance if we exercise caution and avoid validating it with our likes.
Passive engagement, such as liking or reacting to a post, triggers social media algorithms to amplify its reach, exposing it to a broader audience. This amplification increases the likelihood of misinformation spreading quickly as more people interact with it. As the content circulates, it gains credibility through repeated exposure, reinforcing false narratives and expanding its impact.
Social media platforms are designed to facilitate communication and conversations for various purposes. However, this design also enables the sharing, exchange, distribution, and reception of content, including misinformation. This can lead to the widespread spread of false information, influencing public opinion and behaviour. Misinformation has been identified as a contributing factor in various contentious events, ranging from elections and referenda to political or religious persecution, as well as the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Mechanics of Passive Sharing
Sharing a post without checking the facts mentioned or sharing it without providing any context can create situations where misinformation can be knowingly or unknowingly spread. The problem with sharing and forwarding information on social media without fact-checking is that it usually starts in small, trusted networks before going on to be widely seen across the internet. This web which begins is infinite and cutting it from the roots is necessary. The rapid spread of information on social media is driven by algorithms that prioritise engagement and often they amplify misleading or false content and contribute to the spread of misinformation. The algorithm optimises the feed and ensures that the posts that are most likely to engage with appear at the top of the timeline, thus encouraging a cycle of liking and posting that keeps users active and scrolling.
The internet reaches billions of individuals and enables them to tailor persuasive messages to the specific profiles of individual users. The internet because of its reach is an ideal medium for the fast spread of falsehoods at the expense of accurate information.
Recommendations for Combating Passive Sharing
The need to combat passive sharing that we indulge in is important and some ways in which we can do so are as follows:
- We need to critically evaluate the sources before sharing any content. This will ensure that the information source is not corrupted and used as a means to cause disruptions. The medium should not be used to spread misinformation due to the source's ulterior motives. Tools such as crowdsourcing and AI methods have been used in the past to evaluate the sources and have been successful to an extent.
- Engaging with fact-checking tools and verifying the information is also crucial. The information that has been shared on the post needs to be verified through authenticated sources before indulging in the practice of sharing.
- Being mindful of the potential impact of online activity, including likes and shares is important. The kind of reach that social media users have today is due to several reasons ranging from the content they create, the rate at which they engage with other users etc. Liking and sharing content might not seem much for an individual user but the impact it has collectively is huge.
Conclusion
Passive sharing of misinformation, like liking or sharing without verification, amplifies false information, erodes trust in legitimate sources, and deepens social and political divides. It can lead to real-world harm and ethical dilemmas. To combat this, critical evaluation, fact-checking, and mindful online engagement are essential to mitigating this passive spread of misinformation. The small act of “like” or “share” has a much more far-reaching effect than we anticipate and we should be mindful of all our activities on the digital platform.
References
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00049530.2022.2113340#summary-abstract
- https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thane/badlapur-protest-police-warn-against-spreading-fake-news/articleshow/112750638.cms
