An image purportedly showing Congress leader Sonia Gandhi shaking hands with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has gone viral on social media, with users claiming that the photograph is genuine.
The above post can be seen here. (Archive)
NM VERIFIED
NewsMobile verified the claim and found that the image is AI-generated.
The NM team initiated its verification by conducting a detailed reverse image search to trace the origin of the viral photograph. However, the search did not yield any credible source establishing the image’s authenticity, nor could the photograph be traced to any verifiable original source.
Further, no credible reports or publicly available government documents examined during the verification established the authenticity of the purported photograph. Given the significance of such an alleged interaction, a genuine photograph could reasonably be expected to attract media attention or appear in relevant records, if documented. However, the absence of such records alone does not prove that the image is fabricated.
A closer examination of the viral image revealed several visual inconsistencies commonly associated with AI-generated pictures. The text visible in the background appeared questionable, while Sonia Gandhi’s lack of natural eye contact during the purported handshake raised further doubts about the image’s authenticity. Such irregularities, when considered alongside the absence of a verifiable source, warranted further analysis.
To establish the image’s authenticity, we analysed it using Hive Moderation, an AI-detection tool. The analysis indicated a high probability that the image contained AI-generated.
The lack of a verifiable original source, visual inconsistencies and AI-detection results indicate that the viral image purportedly showing Sonia Gandhi shaking hands with Jeffrey Epstein is AI-generated.
