#FactCheck-Old Video of Ira Khan’s Wedding Falsely Linked to Aamir Khan’s Third Marriage

Executive Summary:

Social media is buzzing with a link  that claims to offer an iPhone 15 as a gift from LuLu Hype­rmarket, presente­d as part of Holi celebrations. This article e­xamines the deceptive tactics behind this fraudulent offe­r and provides guidance on recognizing and avoiding such scams.

False Claim:

The link be­ing shared is misleading and falsely claims that LuLu Hype­rmarket is giving away free iPhone­ 15 phones. This is taking advantage of the Holi fe­stival to trick unsuspecting people. Whe­n users click on the link, they are­ redirected multiple­ times and end up on a page with LuLu Hype­rmarket's photo and some simple que­stions. Fake comments are also use­d to make the offer se­em genuine, but it is all a de­ception.

The Deceptive Scheme:

The plan uses psychological tricks by linking the offe­r to a famous brand and a popular celebration. The landing page's simplicity and phoney comments try to make users trust it and fe­el like they ne­ed to act fast, so they'll join the scam.

The Fraudulent Campaign Analysed:

The­ scammers are using psychological tactics to manipulate pe­ople. They're e­xploiting the trust people have­ in LuLu Hypermarket and the e­xcitement around the ne­w iPhone 15 during the Holi festival. The­ fake questionnaire se­rves no real purpose, but it's a way to e­ngage users and make the­ scam seem legitimate­. Testimonials claiming people have­ successfully receive­d the iPhone 15 are also fake­, designed to create­ a false sense of cre­dibility. Users are prompted to se­lect a "gift box," which adds an interactive e­lement to draw them in furthe­r. When a user sele­cts a box, they're falsely congratulate­d on winning the iPhone 15, giving them a se­nse of accomplishment. Finally, users are­ urged to share the link via WhatsApp to "claim" the­ gift, spreading the scam to more pote­ntial victims.

What do we Analyse? :

• We analyse the deceptive tactics employed by the scam, including psychological manipulation, false engagement techniques, and fake testimonials, all aimed at convincing users of the offer's legitimacy.

Link : (https://sophisticate­ddistort[.]top/nTiwpTTTT526?llue1696559991144)

• It is important to note that at this particular point, there has not been any official declaration or a proper confirmation of an offer made by Lulu Hypermarket So, people must be very careful when encountering such messages because they are often employed as lures in phishing attacks or misinformation campaigns. Before engaging or transmitting such claims, it is always advisable to authenticate the information from trustworthy sources in order to protect oneself online and prevent the spread of wrongful information
• The campaign is hosted on a third party domain instead of any official Website of LuLu Hypermarket, this raised suspicion. Also the domain was registered last year.
• The intercepted request revealed a connection to a China-linked analytical service, Baidu in the backend.

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• Domain Name: sophisticateddistort.top
• Registry Domain ID: D20230629G10001G_04181852-top
• Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.west263.com
• Registrar URL: www.west263.com
• Updated Date: 2023-07-01T02:55:34Z
• Creation Date: 2023-06-29T06:05:00Z
• Registry Expiry Date: 2024-06-29T06:05:00Z
• Registrar: Chengdu west dimension digital
• Registrant State/Province: Shan Xi
• Registrant Country: CN (China)
• Name Server: curt.ns.cloudflare.com
• Name Server: harlee.ns.cloudflare.com

Note: Cybercriminal used Cloudflare technology to mask the actual IP address of the fraudulent website.

CyberPeace Advisory:

• Do not open those messages received from social platforms in which you think that such messages are suspicious or unsolicited. In the beginning, your own discretion can become your best weapon.
• Falling prey to such scams could compromise your entire system, potentially granting unauthorised access to your microphone, camera, text messages, contacts, pictures, videos, banking applications, and more. Keep your cyber world safe against any attacks.
• Never, in any case, reveal such sensitive data as your login credentials and banking details to entities you haven't validated as reliable ones.
• Before sharing any content or clicking on links within messages, always verify the legitimacy of the source. Protect not only yourself but also those in your digital circle.
• For the sake of the truthfulness of offers and messages, find the official sources and companies directly. Verify the authenticity of alluring offers before taking any action.

Conclusion:

During the festive season, as we engage in merrymaking and online activities, we should be mindful of fraudster's exploitation strategies. Another instance is the illegitimate Lulu Hypermarket offer of the upcoming iPhone 15. With the knowledge and carefulness, we can report any suspicious actions to avoid being victims of fraud in this way. Keep in mind the fact that legitimate offers are usually issued by trustworthy sources while if, the offer looks too good to be true, then it is rather a scam.

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Executive Summary
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A video of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is rapidly going viral on social media, in which he can allegedly be heard making a statement regarding the 2025 India-Pakistan conflict. Along with the video, it is being claimed that the US played a crucial role in ending the conflict between the two countries, but India was the first to initiate a ceasefire with Pakistan. Users are sharing this video believing it to be true.

Research by the CyberPeace Research Wing revealed that the video has been digitally manipulated. Rubio did state that the United States played a role in ending the conflict, but he never said that India was the first to request a ceasefire from Pakistan. This alleged statement was not part of the original video and was added later to alter the clip.

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Claim

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A user on a Facebook page shared the viral video and wrote, "Marco Rubio's statement has clearly brought out the truth, weakening India's claim. During 'Maarka-e-Haq', after suffering heavy losses, India was the first party to request a ceasefire from Pakistan. This highlights the gap between India's public claims and the ground reality, where the military..." The post link, archive link, and screenshot can be seen below. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1015648544746728

https://archive.ph/wip/7J0Xi

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1015648544746728

https://archive.ph/wip/7J0Xi

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Fact Check

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We investigated the viral video using the InVid tool and extracted several of its keyframes. These keyframes were then subjected to a reverse image search via Google Lens. The investigation revealed that the exact same video had been shared on social media previously, showing the same background and setting. The post link and screenshot can be seen below. 

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1015648544746728 

https://archive.ph/wip/7J0Xi 

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In the next step of our investigation, we found a video published on Reuters' official YouTube channel on June 2, 2026, whose background matches the viral video. However, nowhere in this original video is Marco Rubio heard saying that India was the first to request a ceasefire from Pakistan. The post link and screenshot can be seen below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSpp5IYO6Cs

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At the 2-hour 8-minute 55-second mark of the Reuters video, Rubio only states that the US played a role in ending the India-Pakistan conflict. Following this, he discusses the Thailand-Cambodia conflict. This makes it clear that the alleged statement in the viral video was digitally added or edited in, and is not part of the original footage.

Taking the investigation further, we scanned the suspicious audio portion of the viral video using the AI detection tool 'Resemble AI'. According to the analysis results, clear signs of audio manipulation were detected.

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Conclusion:

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Our investigation revealed that the video has been digitally manipulated. Rubio did state that the United States played a role in ending the conflict, but he never said that India was the first to request a ceasefire from Pakistan. This alleged statement was not part of the original video and was altered by adding it later.

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Introduction‍

In a significant step, the Indian Army beefed up its information warfare capacity on June 25, 2026, with the operationalisation of @MythbusterXX, its dedicated fact-checking handle designed to counter any form of misinformation, disinformation, malinformation, and deepfakes on the army swiftly. Adopting the motto 'Verify Before You Amplify,' the service seeks to pivot from reactive statements to active cognitive warfare. In a milieu where manipulated narratives can be as decisive in shaping public perception as kinetic force is on the battlefield, truth itself has transformed into a critical national security objective. 

This is clear proof that protecting India’s digital battleground will from now on be defined not just by troop deployments but also by its institutional verification capacities, swift attribution mechanisms, and public awareness.

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When the Battlefield Went Digital‍

Today warfare extends to timelines, group chats, and prime-time graphics packages. The distinction between misinformation , disinformation , and malinformation is crucial to operations. After all, they necessitate different types of counters. Generative AI just exponentially increased their velocity, cost, and the creepy believability of synthesized audio, video, and images. Operation Sindoor, India's May 2025 military response to a Pahalgam terror attack, provides a blueprint for just how large it can get.

According to the fact-checking site BOOM, 68% of fact checks in May related to Operation Sindoor, describing the campaign as a misinformation superspreader, and, more directly, India's Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan lamented at last year’s Shangri-La Dialogue that roughly 15% of his military’s operational time was spent on countering false news. New Delhi matched this response level; the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had blocked over 1,400 URLs, many bearing false information or communally inciteful narratives from accounts in Pakistan. These challenges won't be vanishing any time soon. Microsoft's July 2025 Digital Defence Report lists India among the top countries targeted for AI-powered state-backed hacking, noting the automation of attacks and generation of fake content used to influence opinion.

CyberPeace's regulatory tracking also indicates steps toward building infrastructure to mitigate this,  a Rule 7 complaint system for deepfakes, and efforts to foster local detection capabilities under the IndiaAI mission signal it's now an infrastructural threat.

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Why the Army Chose to Speak First

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On 1 June 2026, the Indian government’s official fact-checking unit debunked a deepfake of former Army Chief General Dhiraj Seth talking about India’s engagement with the Taliban that emanated from Pakistan-affiliated propaganda sources, appearing within days of a change of military command. Barely days after General Dhiraj Seth was elevated to Chief of Army Staff, the 31st person to hold the post, another fabricated deepfake used spliced authentic footage with AI-cloned audio to falsely allege he had blamed the past army leadership for hiding the bodies of soldiers to protect their image.

Such a dual targeting of India’s army chiefs with deepfakes in such close succession is a testament as to why an authoritative, constantly running fact-check machine isn’t an optional extra but a strategic must-have.

Architecture is as important as architecture itself. India tried a statutory fact-checking model with a government-owned Fact Check Unit under the Information Technology (IT) Rules of 2023 through the Press Information Bureau (PIB). It had to retreat from the edge of the constitutional cliff. In September 2024, when the Bombay High Court struck down key provisions of these rules. It ruled it unconstitutional to empower the state to declare digital content relating to the state itself as fake, false, or misleading. A similar reading of the analysis by CyberPeace found that digital speech should be given the same protections as offline speech, and this should be the benchmark for any counter-misinformation policy.

MythbusterXX carefully avoids the constitutional controversy by acting as an institutional avenue that produces verified information and rebuttals in response to disinformation. There is a profound distinction between answering falsehoods with factual, credible speech versus shutting them down with state power, the very proportionality that civil libertarians have said must govern a democracy's approach to online misinformation.

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Platforms as Accelerants, Not Just Conduits

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Part of the issue lies upstream, with the algorithms and broadcasters that favor speedy falsehood over careful confirmation. A month’s supply of “false and misleading stories,” the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism observed, streamed online within hours of Operation Sindoor's onset: one fact-checker identified approximately seventy false claims by the close of day one. Meanwhile, on the small screen, graphics depicting escalating conflicts were being televised, with broadcasters forced to scramble under 24/7 competition.

Amplified manipulation of the crisis narrative is also a factor; studies show that thousands of accounts have been reposting exactly the same party content for three years, making crisis-induced viral narratives predictable rather than organic phenomena. For the most part, the platforms that manage these narratives and the algorithms that direct content on both sides of the divide are not just innocent delivery systems.

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Digital Literacy as the First Line of Defence

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Institutional rebuttals only go so far if citizens lack the reflex to pause before sharing, which is where CyberPeace's own work becomes directly relevant. Through a multi-year, Google.org-backed initiative, CyberPeace Foundation aims to reach over 40 million Indian internet users, including 9 million underserved beneficiaries, through a multilingual resource centre offering 650 hours of content, state-level helplines, and quick-response teams staffed by digital forensics and fact-checking experts. Longer-running efforts such as the Digital Shakti campaign and the annual eRaksha competition, run with NCERT, have built a culture of responsible digital citizenship among young and first-time internet users since 2019, while CyberPeace Corps, the foundation's volunteer arm, carries the same message into classrooms and campuses through cyber-awareness sessions run with universities and school networks nationwide. Notably, CyberPeace's own research on children's online safety had already flagged manipulated Army-related videos as a category of digital manipulation designed to cast doubt on official military positions, well before @MythbusterXX existed. The Army's tagline and CyberPeace's mission converge on the same insight: verification is a civic skill, not merely an institutional service.

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A Season of Deepfakes

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The history book of compromised defence material in the past year alone would be edifying. The International Federation of Journalists recorded one such deepfake widely circulated that relied on AI voice cloning and lip-sync tools to present the Pakistani PM conceding defeat, though the video actually contained his praise for the Pakistani air force’s performance following Operation Sindoor. 

Other similar videos featured the Indian Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister, and Home Minister allegedly apologising to Pakistan and a deepfake with a foreign head of state in voice-cloned style applauding India’s armed forces. None needed a state’s resources, but just a laptop, voice cloning available readily, and a citizenry ready to spread rather than confirm the authenticity of any such sensational information before spreading it on to the masses.

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Building the Verification Reflex

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A resilient information ecosystem needs different actors playing complementary roles:

1. Citizens: Do not equate virality with credibility. Verify all national security-related information through official sources, such as @MythbusterXX, before reposting or forwarding it.
2. Journalists: Apply rigorous verification standards to live broadcasts, war-room graphics, and breaking reports, just as you would to print journalism, and avoid speculation during fast-moving military operations.
3. Researchers and fact-checkers: Use open-source forensic and AI-detection technologies to authenticate questionable material. BOOM researchers, for instance, used Deepfake-o-meter to scrutinize misleading videos of political leaders before fact-checking and publishing them.
4. Policymakers: Favored constitutionally proportional and carefully tailored regulations over broad-based takedown mandates. While the 2026 IT Amendment Rules require platforms to shift their obligations from compliance with takedowns towards preventive diligence on synthetic media, implementation should continue to be informed by judicial protections afforded to freedom of speech and due process.

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Cyber Resilience Is National Security Now

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Legal scholars examining Operation Sindoor have drawn a useful distinction between coordinated information warfare, which is strategic and intentional, and the diffuse, uncoordinated mis/disinformation that dominated timelines during the conflict, cautioning that disproportionate state responses to the latter can compromise citizens' right to know just as much as the falsehoods themselves. Getting that balance right, between speed and due process, between institutional voice and censorship, is the real test facing India's information ecosystem, in defence and far beyond it. CyberPeace has made a related argument in its own work on AI-enabled espionage: institutions such as the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre and the Defence Cyber Agency are already folding AI-based monitoring into their processes, yet no amount of institutional surveillance substitutes for a citizenry trained to spot manipulation on sight.

@MythbusterXX will not end deepfakes, and no single handle can. But it signals something CyberPeace has argued for years: resilience against synthetic and manipulated media requires authoritative institutional voices, digitally literate citizens, forensically equipped researchers, and proportionate policy, all pulling in the same direction. "Verify before you amplify" is not just an Army campaign. It is the operating discipline a democracy needs to protect its own information age.

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Conclusion

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@MythbusterXX can't possibly kill deepfakes and disinformation, but this marks a milestone shift towards developing an institutional resilience for India's info battlefield. For, after all, national security in the age of info warfare depends less on tech and more on robust institutions, constitutional balance in policymaking, responsible social platforms, and a citizenry that clicks "forward" only after clicking "verify."

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This piece is part of CyberPeace's ongoing work on misinformation, disinformation, and digital citizenship in India. For more on CyberPeace's initiatives in digital literacy and cyber resilience, visit cyberpeace.org.

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Key Sources

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• Dynamite News, "Indian Army launches fact-check push against deepfake videos and fake military claims" (June 2026)
• ADG PI – Indian Army, official announcement on X (@adgpi)
• Press Information Bureau, Government of India, press release on countering misinformation during Operation Sindoor
• Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, "Truth is the casualty: How Indian fact-checkers debunked false claims during the India-Pakistan crisis"
• International Federation of Journalists, "AI, Deepfakes, and the Fog of War" and "Operation Sindoor and the Two Wars" (June 2025)
• Republic World, "Operation Sindoor Haunts Pakistan: Islamabad's Latest AI Deepfake Bid Against Indian Army Chief General Dhiraj Seth Exposed" (July 2026)
• TechPolicy Press, "Sanity Prevails as Bombay High Court Strikes Down India Government's Fact Check Unit", and LiveLaw, coverage of the tie-breaker verdict, on the IT Amendment Rules, 2023 (Fact-Check Unit)
• Dark Reading, "Indian Army Propaganda Spread by 1.4K AI-Powered Social Media Accounts"
• Inforrm, "(Dis)information warfare and the right to know: lessons from Operation Sindoor"
• CyberPeace Foundation, initiatives page and The CyberPeace Initiative (Google.org-backed digital literacy programme)
• CyberPeace Foundation, "AI-Powered Espionage: How India's Cybersecurity Strategy Must Evolve"
• CyberPeace Foundation, "From Deepfakes to Due Diligence – Decoding India's IT Amendment Rules"
• Wikipedia, CyberPeace Foundation (background on Digital Shakti and eRaksha)

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