#FactCheck - Manipulated Image Alleging Disrespect Towards PM Circulates Online

Executive Summary

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A video circulating widely on social media shows a man interacting with a humanoid robot and using abusive language, after which the robot asks him to maintain politeness. Several users shared the clip claiming that the incident took place during a recent AI summit in New Delhi. The video triggered strong reactions online, with some users demanding legal action against the individual. However, research  by CyberPeace  found the claim to be misleading.

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Claim

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Social media users claimed that the viral video showing a man abusing a robot was recorded during an AI summit in New Delhi, India.

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• https://x.com/ArunKosli/status/2023996469158834656 
• https://archive.is/VfHFI 

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Fact Check 

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To verify the claim, we conducted a reverse image search of the individual seen in the video. The search led us to an Instagram post uploaded by a Pakistani account identifying the individual as Kashif Zameer.

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• https://www.instagram.com/p/DSIhfJxk6TB/ 

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Further keyword searches helped us locate his Instagram profile, where the same video had been uploaded on February 17, 2026. The post included hashtags such as “Dubai,” indicating the actual location of the incident. The profile also lists Lahore, Pakistan, as the user’s location and describes him as a businessman and social media personality.

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• https://www.instagram.com/p/DU298OLFJRM/ 

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To confirm the location shown in the video, we conducted additional searches using keywords such as “Dubai” and “humanoid robot.” The research  revealed that the robot featured in the clip is “Ameca,” located at the Museum of the Future in Dubai.

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• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyfYoU1ta3w

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Conclusion

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The viral claim is false. The video is not related to any AI summit held in New Delhi. The incident occurred in Dubai, and the person seen in the video is not an Indian citizen.

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Introduction

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued an advisory on March 1 2024, urging platforms to prevent bias, discrimination, and threats to electoral integrity by using AI, generative AI, LLMs, or other algorithms. The advisory requires that AI models deemed unreliable or under-tested in India must obtain explicit government permission before deployment. While leveraging Artificial Intelligence models, Generative AI, software, or algorithms in their computer resources, Intermediaries and platforms need to ensure that they prevent bias, discrimination, and threats to electoral integrity. As Intermediaries are required to follow due diligence obligations outlined under “Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code)Rules, 2021, updated as of 06.04.2023”. This advisory is issued to urge the intermediaries to abide by the IT rules and regulations and compliance therein.  

Key Highlights of the Advisories

• Intermediaries and platforms must ensure that users of Artificial Intelligence models/LLM/Generative AI, software, or algorithms do not allow users to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update, or share unlawful content, as per Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT Rules. 
• The government emphasises intermediaries and platforms to prevent bias or discrimination in their use of Artificial Intelligence models, LLMs, and Generative AI, software, or algorithms, ensuring they do not threaten the integrity of the electoral process.
• The government requires explicit permission to use deemed under-testing or unreliable AI models, LLMs, or algorithms on the Indian internet. Further, it must be deployed with proper labelling of potential fallibility or unreliability.  Further, users can be informed through a consent popup mechanism.
• The advisory specifies that all users should be well informed about the consequences of dealing with unlawful information on platforms, including disabling access, removing non-compliant information, suspension or termination of access or usage rights of the user to their user account and imposing punishment under applicable law. It entails that users are clearly informed, through terms of services and user agreements, about the consequences of engaging with unlawful information on the platform. 
• The advisory also indicates measures advocating to combat deepfakes or misinformation. The advisory necessitates identifying synthetically created content across various formats, advising platforms to employ labels, unique identifiers, or metadata to ensure transparency. Furthermore, the advisory mandates the disclosure of software details and tracing the first originator of such synthetically created content.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for IT, specified that

“Advisory is aimed at the Significant platforms, and permission seeking from Meity is only for large platforms and will not apply to startups. Advisory is aimed at untested AI platforms from deploying on the Indian Internet. Process of seeking permission , labelling & consent based disclosure to user about untested platforms is insurance policy to platforms who can otherwise be sued by consumers. Safety & Trust of India's Internet is a shared and common goal for Govt, users and Platforms.”

Conclusion

MeitY's advisory sets the stage for a more regulated Al landscape. The Indian government requires explicit permission for the deployment of under-testing or unreliable Artificial Intelligence models on the Indian Internet. Alongside intermediaries, the advisory also applies to digital platforms that incorporate Al elements. Advisory is aimed at significant platforms and will not apply to startups. This move safeguards users and fosters innovation by promoting responsible AI practices, paving the way for a more secure and inclusive digital environment.

References 

• https://regmedia.co.uk/2024/03/04/meity_ai_advisory_1_march.pdf
• https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/govts-ai-advisory-will-not-apply-to-startups-mos-it-rajeev-chandrasekhar/articleshow/108197797.cms?from=mdr
• https://www.meity.gov.in/writereaddata/files/Advisory%2015March%202024.pdf

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Introduction

Recently, the Delhi Police arrested a licensed telecom PoS agent, who identified himself as “Shivam Telecom," from a roadside kiosk adjacent to Hindu Rao Hospital. On the face of it, the headline may have simply read, “One man, one arrest." However, beneath that arrest is the unsettling story of a fully legitimate retail shop actively forging other people’s identification documents into weapons, one SIM card at a time, for as little as ₹500-600 each. This is not an account of an isolated offender; it is a peek into the vulnerability of SIM card security for typical end-users and the reasons why every mobile phone subscriber must pay attention to the unseen journey of his number.

 Why SIM Security Matters Now

Erstwhile, a SIM card was only a simple device for sending text messages and making calls. Today, however, it’s also a direct link to most of our lives online, be it online banking to verify it through one-time passwords (OTP) or Unified Payments Interface (UPI); social media platforms; or email accounts to reset a forgotten password, two-factor authentications (2FA), or even numerous other online services. Therefore, losing a SIM card and getting it fraudulently issued under your name, or criminals accessing your identity to buy a SIM, can be a serious cause of concern, as they can then impersonate you, conduct various frauds, bypass checks, or commit acts that can lead to you being wrongly implicated.

According to the investigation, criminals were procuring SIM cards through the authorized outlets of telecom companies, not unlicensed dealers. This clearly proves a deficiency in the Know Your Customer (KYC) process for the SIM card activation. The situation, however, is worse and is also highlighted by the fact that more than 21 lakh mobile numbers from the more than 114 crore mobile numbers reviewed under the Sanchar Saathi initiative launched by the department of telecommunications (DoT) were associated with fake or invalid identity documents. A state police chief of Tamil Nadu claims that 90% of the cyber fraud cases involved SIM cards obtained through misused identity documents.

How Illegally Activated SIMs Fuel Everyday Scams?

Once a SIM is activated using someone else's identity documents or biometric data, without their knowledge, it becomes a disposable, hard-to-trace tool for criminals. Here's how that plays out in practice:

1. Phishing and impersonation calls: Using an honest person’s details for a SIM registration allows the scammer to have a “clean” number that won’t tip off victims about a potential scam immediately when carrying out a fake bank call, fake delivery scam, or fake impersonation of an officer.
2. OTP and account-takeover fraud:  Since the SIM card is used as the anchor to OTP verification, an unauthorized SIM can be used to capture one-time passwords to activate new digital payments, create a new digital payments account, or use other personal information linked to your phone number to reset your service passwords.
3. Financial fraud and money mule networks: According to the investigators, such SIMs were extensively being used to open digital payment accounts as well as to flow money across a number of fraud chains, thus enabling the fraudsters to build a layer of financial infrastructure that is not linked with their actual identities.
4. Identity theft with real-world consequences: The identity of the Aadhaar holder (whose document was used to activate the SIM card) might be unaware that a SIM exists under his name until the fraud is uncovered during a loan default or a criminal investigation where he is forced to justify a crime committed using “his” number that he is oblivious to. 

That is the anonymity that SIM-card fraud has: the fact that the SIM on the face of it seems genuine, but the one operating it and the registered owner have absolutely no relationship whatsoever.

Red Flags Every Mobile User Should Watch For

Most people won't know their identity has been misused until something goes visibly wrong. A few warning signs are worth taking seriously:

1. Your SIM suddenly loses network connectivity or displays "No Service" for an extended period without any known outage, SIM replacement request, or billing issue.
2. You stop receiving OTPs or verification messages for banking, UPI, or other online services, particularly if login attempts continue to occur on your accounts.
3. You receive unexpected OTPs, verification codes, or account alerts for services you never signed up for, indicating that someone may be attempting to use your mobile number.
4. You receive calls or messages intended for someone else or asking you to confirm activities you never performed, which may suggest your number has been misused or duplicated.
5. Your bank or telecom provider notifies you of unusual account activity, failed identity verification, or changes that you did not authorize.
6. You discover multiple mobile connections registered in your name that you never requested, a risk that often remains unnoticed unless you proactively check through the Department of Telecommunications' Sanchar Saathi portal.

None of these guarantee fraud, but any of them is a reason to check further rather than assume it's a glitch.

Practical Steps to Protect Yourself

The good news is that Indian users now have direct tools to check and control this exposure:

1. Identify your SIMs: Via the Department of Telecom’s Sanchar Saathi website, you can access a list of all mobile numbers registered in your name. Report and get any SIMs you do not recognize deactivated promptly.
2. Safeguard your identity documents and biometrics: Do not disclose your Aadhaar information, OTPs, or biometrics to unofficial persons or retail agents. Ensure your SIM is activated in your presence by an official dealer of the telecom company.
3. Tighten the security of your accounts: Wherever possible, use the most secure multi-factor authentication methods; an authenticator app, rather than just SMS, would be ideal. Consider enabling account change or SIM swap notifications from your telecom provider.
4. Stay vigilant about your bank accounts and financial activities. Watch for unusual OTP requests, password change requests, login notifications, and unrecognized devices being logged into your online accounts. Being observant early on helps minimize losses.
5. Take swift action if a SIM stops working: Contact your telecom provider and report the misuse to the Sanchar Saathi website as well as your nearest cyber station, or file a complaint through the cybercrime helpline number.

A Shared Responsibility

Consumer vigilance is not enough to save the system. Telecom providers must verify customer authenticity and check their retail points sufficiently so that a roadside vendor of the likes of “Shivam Telecom” cannot have their retail outlet anywhere the retail outlets may not need to be established and can be run even from an abandoned car body on the street for weeks. Authorities are ensuring this by making all franchisees and PoS agents and distributors register, such that the individual activating each SIM is perfectly identifiable. Consumers should take precautions and report suspicious patterns and be vigilant for fraud detection and protect themselves by knowing the system, like the use of the Sanchar Saathi platform.

Conclusion

The Delhi fake SIM case proves that even sophisticated technologies are not enough to protect India’s telecom ecosystem. No amount of biometric validation, AI fraud prevention tools, or rigid KYC compliance can offset a single corrupt agent selling SIM cards over the counter. While law enforcement works to clamp down, the responsibility also falls upon consumers, who need to regularly monitor their SIM registrations, safeguard their identity, and report any suspicious transactions in time to minimize the threat of identity theft and SIM-based cybercrime.

Sources

• https://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a1784141.html 
• https://the420.in/dots-sanchar-saathi-initiative-exposes-21-lakh-sim-cards-activated-illegally 
•  https://www.sancharsaathi.gov.in/ 
•  https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2113857 
• https://www.business-standard.com/amp/industry/news/nearly-4-million-sims-deactivated-as-govt-cracks-down-on-digital-fraud-125080500300_1.html 
• https://www.digit.in/news/telecom/here-are-5-new-sim-card-rules-implemented-by-dot-amid-rising-scams-and-frauds.html 

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