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Fact-Check: Does This Video Show Monalisa Bhonsale During a Photo Shoot? No!

The video is a deepfake. The original clip shows actor Wamiqa Gabbi.

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A set of two claims about Monalisa Bhonsale, a teenage girl who went viral while selling beads with her family at the Maha Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh are being shared on social media.

  • The first video claims to show Bhonsale in a yellow dress, posing for the camera purportedly at a photo shoot.

  • The second video containing three images is also being shared to claim that it shows Bhonsale in a different light.

The Quint also received a query to verify the authenticity of this clip on our WhatsApp tipline.

(Archived versions of more posts sharing this claim can be seen here, here and here.)

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

  • This video originally shows actor Wamiqa Gabbi and it has been altered using face swap technology.

  • The images in the video have also been created using artificial intelligence and are not real.

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How did we find out the truth?: We ran a reverse image search on the viral video, which led us to an Instagram post by news organisation Sangbad Pratidin.

  • While the video was similar to the viral one, the post identified the woman as actor Gabbi. It did not show Bhonsale.

  • We looked for the same video on Gabbi's verified Instagram account and saw that she had shared it on 2 January, more than 10 days before the Maha Kumbh Mela began on 13 January.

Altered using AI?: To check whether the viral video had used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to alter Gabbi's video, we ran it through AI detection tools.

  • Hive Moderation's tool showed 97 percent confidence in the video being altered using AI at places where the subject faces the camera.

  • Bengaluru-based start-up Contrails.ai's tool also said that it detected manipulation in the video, noting that there were "clear signs of AI being used".

  • Additional notes in the report specified that the video used the "FaceSwap technique" to artificially insert Monalisa's face in the viral clip.

Claim 2: At first, we took screenshots of all the three images and examined them closely. We noticed the smooth texture of Bhonsale's face which was an indicator that the image could be AI-generated.

  • We, then, ran the image on different AI-detection tools such as Sightengine, Was It AI and AI or not, to find the results. Swipe to see the results.

  • Sightengine noted 99%, Was It AI and AI or Not were confident the visual being created using AI.

  • We did not find any credible sources to prove the legitimacy of these images.

  • Here are the results by Sightengine. 

    (Source: Sightengine)

The Quint's WebQoof team had fact-checked another claim where two deepfake clips of her were shared as real.

Conclusion: A deepfake video showing Monalisa Bhonsale in a yellow dress is being shared on social media as an authentic video of the girl.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818 , or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)

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