Aamir Khan’s TV programme clips doctored with voice cloning; the actor did not seek votes for Congress

A couple of videos featuring Bollywood actor Aamir Khan are being circulated on social media. In one, he talks about the Rs 15 Lakh apparently promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to every citizen. In the second, he talks about Congress’s election manifesto.

Video I

Here, Khan questions where the money promised by the PM went and asks people to stay aware of such ‘jumle waade’ (false promises). The video ends with an appeal to people to vote for Congress in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Khan states: “If you think India is a poor country, then you are wrong. Because every citizen here is a millionaire. Every citizen here should have at least Rs 15 Lakh. What did you say? You don’t have this money? So where did your 15 Lakh go? Beware of jumlewad“.

Premium subscribed X (formerly Twitter) user Harish Meena (@HarishMeenaINC) shared the video on April 15. In the tweet, the user wrote: “… You don’t have 15 lakhs in your account.. So where did your 15 lakhs go??? So be careful with such jokers.. Otherwise it will be your loss…” (Archive)

भारत का हर नागरिक लखपति है
क्योंकि सबके पास काम से कम 15 लाख तो होने ही चाहिए ..
क्या कहा
आपके अकाउंट में 15 लाख नहीं है..
तो आपके 15 लाख गए कहां ???
तो ऐसे जुमलेबाजों से रहे सावधान
नहीं तो होगा तुम्हारा नुकसान
🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳देशहित में जारी🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/GkhwpbUCfz

— Harish Meena (@HarishMeenaINC) April 15, 2024

Several other users on X also shared the same video claiming Aamir Khan was endorsing Congress.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Video II

In the second video, which is yet again an appeal to the public to vote for Congress, the actor can be heard praising ‘Panch Nyay‘ which is the Congress party’s manifesto for the upcoming election.

Aamir Khan says, “In this election, there are two types of guarantees, one is good and other bad. The bad news is that again such ‘jumle waade‘ (false promises) have been made to destroy your life. But the good news is this time for your betterment there is ‘Paanch Nyay’. The Hand (Congress Party’s symbol) will change the scenario.”

Facebook page North East With Congress shared the above-mentioned video on April 12 with the following caption: “Indian Film Superstar Shri Amir Khan’s support for ‘ #PaanchNYAY ‘ and his endorsement of the #Congress and #INDIAAlliance is a welcome sight. It takes courage to stand up for what’s right, and his stance signifies a shift in Bollywood’s narrative. Let’s embrace this momentum for change and cast our vote for progress.
#NoVoteForBJP
#HaathBadlegaHalaat #voteforchange2024 #Vote4Congress
#VoteForCongress”.

Alt News received requests on its WhatsApp helpline to fact-check the above video.

 

Fact Check

Video I

We noticed that the words heard in the video and the lip movement of the actor did not match in several instances. After breaking down the video into several key frames, we ran a reverse image search on some of them. This led us to a YouTube video posted on the channel Satyamev Jayate, a show hosted by Aamir Khan which ran between 2012 and 2014 on TV channel Star Plus.

The visuals and background music in this YouTube video were the same as those in the viral video. The video was posted on August 30, 2016, and the title said: “Sataymev Jayate Ep 4 Promo – Each Indian is entitled to one crore!”

In the 35-second video, Khan says that every Indian is entitled to 1 crore rupees. The video ends with Aamir Khan asking everyone to watch the show and there is no mention of “jumle waade” as in the viral video.

We ran a relevant keyword search to find more information related to the above video and found the promo on the official website of the programme as well. The promotional video was for an episode titled: “Kings Every Day” in season 2 of the show which aired in 2014. The entire 1.11-hour-long episode is available on Satyamev Jayate’s YouTube channel, it was posted on March 23, 2014.

In the above video, Aamir Khan begins by talking about financial scams in the country and then goes on to discuss taxes and personal wealth. At the 9.41 mark, he introduces a guest expert from an independent think tank. They discuss about national wealth and deduce that if the total wealth of the country is distributed among the citizens, each Indian will become a crorepati.

Hence, it is clear that the audio of the viral video of Aamir Khan that is being shared as his appeal to voters to vote for Congress is not genuine. The audio has been doctored seemingly using AI voice cloning.

Video 2

As in the above video, in this case as well we noticed that the lip movement was not always in sync with the audio.

We looked through Satyamev Jayate’s YouTube channel to check if the second viral video had also been taken from here and we found the same video posted on August 30, 2016. The visuals of this video are the same as the video clip in question.

However, the audio is different. In the YouTube video, Khan can be heard talking about the comeback of his show on television and not about the manifestos of any political party.

He gestures ‘five’ with his hand and says that his show will be telecast on five Sundays in March. In the viral video, this gesture is being claimed to be made for his endorsement of the ‘Panch Nyay’ in Congress’ manifesto.

We further found a tweet by the official X account of Satyamev Jayate from February 23, 2014, which carried the link to the same video. The caption said: “Sirf Paanch Sunday, March Ke! Watch the new season of Satyamev Jayate , every Sunday of March at 11am #DeshKiFikr”.

Sirf Paanch Sunday, March Ke! Watch the new season of Satyamev Jayate , every Sunday of March at 11am #DeshKiFikr http://t.co/nAyJJRxX4u

— Satyamev Jayate (@satyamevjayate) February 23, 2014

Therefore, from the above findings, it is clear that the claim that Aamir Khan is endorsing Congress’ manifesto is false. The audio of the original video has been doctored.

With respect to the first video, we could also find an official statement from Aamir Khan’s team given to the media. NDTV reported that Khan’s office said, “We want to clarify Aamir Khan has never endorsed any political party in his 35-year career. He has dedicated his efforts to raising public awareness through campaigns for the Election Commission for many past elections. We are alarmed now to see a recent viral video alleging Mr Khan is promoting a particular party. He would like to clarify this is a fake and totally untrue video. He has reported the matter to various authorities, including filing an FIR with the Cyber Crime Cell of Mumbai Police”.