PIB Fact Check Warns Against Fake Investment Ads Using AI Videos Of Finance Minister

A fact check has been issued against fake investment schemes being promoted on social media using AI videos of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

In a post on X, the Press Information Bureau’s fact

check unit said: “Sponsored advertisements circulating on Facebook are using AI-generated and digitally manipulated videos of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to falsely promote an investment scheme. This claim is completely FAKE.”

🚨 Fake Investment Scam Using AI-Generated Video

Sponsored advertisements circulating on Facebook are using AI-generated and digitally manipulated videos of Union Finance Minister @nsitharaman to falsely promote an investment scheme.

🔍 #PIBFactCheck

❌ This claim is… pic.twitter.com/sm0SsxX6kI

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) January 7, 2026

It further stated that neither the Finance Minister nor the Centre has endorsed or promoted any such investment scheme. It warned citizens to always verify financial claims through official government portals or regulatory bodies like RBI and SEBI.

“Avoid clicking on suspicious links shared via ads or unknown pages. Never share personal, banking, or OTP details on unverified platforms. Report such fraudulent ads or videos directly on the social media platform,” it cautioned public.

This comes days after a fact check was issued against viral videos of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das claiming that an investment of Rs 22,000 can generate monthly returns of Rs 10 lakh.

“Sponsored ads on Instagram are circulating digitally altered, AI-generated videos featuring Union Finance Minister @nsitharaman and former RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, falsely promoting an investment scheme that claims returns of Rs 10 lakh in a month for an investment of Rs 22,000,” PIB Fact Check said.

Last year, a major fact check was issued by the Centre after a digitally altered video of President Droupadi Murmu began circulating on social media. The video was shared by several Pakistan-based propaganda accounts, which attempted to falsely portray President Murmu as speaking about extremism, shrinking freedoms, weakening secularism, and threats to minorities in India. The claims were categorically denied by the government.

The deepfake altered President Murmu’s speech delivered in Parliament on the occasion of the 76th Constitution Day on 26 November. In her actual address, the President praised the Constitution as the backbone of India’s democratic system.