Fact-Check: AI-Generated Images of Indira Gandhi Viral as Real on Social Media

Fact-Check: These images are generated using AI and are not real as claimed. 

(Source: The Quint) 

A collection of four pictures, allegedly showing former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in provocative attire, has gone viral on social media, claiming to be real images.

• Users have mentioned the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament and actor-director Kangana Ranaut while posting images on X, asking why she didn't portray this aspect of the former PM in her recently launched film, “Emergency," a biographical on Gandhi.

The claim: "I trust @KanganaTeam highlighted the prostitution aspect of Indira Gandhi in her propaganda film. How she amused KGB agents from Russia and the Soviet Union in bed. Everything is referenced in a book titled “The Mitrokhin- The KGB in the world(sic)."

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: X) 

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

Is the claim true?: No, the claim is false.

• These images are generated using artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

What we found: At first, we went through the book mentioned in the claim, "The Mitrokhin Archive II The KGB in the World."

• We downloaded the book from a free E-library and went through the portions about India. The book accounts experiences of Vasili Nikitich Mitrokhin, a former Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (KGB) archivist who went to the United Kingdom after the fall of the Soviet Union.

• In Chapter 17, titled, "The Special Relationship with India. Part 1: The Supremacy of the Indian National Congress," it mentioned Russia and India relations along with former Russian security agency KGB influence.

Here is a preview from the book.

(Source: The Mitrokhin Archive II The KGB in the World/Screenshot) 

• The portion about India spans across two chapters however, mentions nothing about Mrs Gandhi's personal relationship with the Russians.

• In the index section, there is a portion for the illustrations. In that section, it shows an image of a portrait of Mrs Gandhi with two men posing alongside.

• It noted, "An episode in the prolonged charm offensive against Indira Gandhi. Viktor Cherkashin of the New Delhi residency (second from the right) at the presentation of a portrait of Mrs Gandhi by the Soviet artist Ilya Glazunov (next to Cherkashin)." (sic.)

Here is preview of the portrait.

(Source: The Mitrokhin Archive II The KGB in the World/Screenshot) 

• None of the viral images were featured in this book.

• We ran a Google reverse image on some of them and found that they were uploaded on Deviant Art, a digital social platform for artists and art lovers where users submit thousands of unique artworks daily, ranging from paintings and sculptures to digital creations, pixel art, movies, and anime.

• A user named "HerSofterSide" uploaded these images of Mrs Gandhi in May 2023.

Here is a preview of the user's profile. 

(Source: Deviant Art) 

AI-dectection websites: We ran the image on two AI-detection websites such as Hive Moderation and Sightengine AI. Both platforms declared all images as AI-generated.

Here are the results by Hive Moderation. 

Here are the results by Sightengine AI.

Here are the results by Hive Moderation. 

Here are the results by Sightengine AI.

Here are the results by Hive Moderation. 

Here are the results by Sightengine AI.

Here are the results by Hive Moderation. 

Here are the results by Sightengine AI.

Conclusion: AI-generated images of former PM Indira Gandhi showing her in a provocative manner have gone viral as real.

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