Claim
A video purportedly showing West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu accepting bribe in a sting operation has been leaked online during the state assembly polls.
Also read: West Bengal Polls 2026 – Old video shared as police action against TMC workers during Phase 1 voting
fact
A Google keyword search for “Bratya Basu” and “bribery” did not turn up any reliable reports to support the claims of this virus. Additionally, reverse image searches of keyframes from viral clips did not yield reliable news coverage.
Further analysis of the video revealed several anomalies commonly associated with AI-generated content, including finger distortion and blurring.
We then reached out to TIA’s Deepfake Analysis Unit (DAU), which includes News Checker. The force used multiple AI detection tools to examine the footage.
One such platform (AI or not) discovered that keyframes in viral clips could have been generated by AI.
Google’s SynthID also indicates that the video was created using Google’s AI.
DAU also said it used Resemble AI to check the footage and while the tool was unable to trace the AI to the video, it did spot the AI in the audio, further confirming that the video was not real.
Also read: TMC leaders threaten to set fire to voters’ houses? The truth behind viral videos
sauce
DAU analysis
