India TV Fact Check: A video allegedly featuring former adult star Mia Khalifa naming Hardik Pandya as her favourite cricketer during a conversation with Steven Bartlett on the podcast 'The Diary Of A CEO' is going viral on social media. However, a fact-check by India TV confirmed that the viral video has AI-generated audio.
What is going viral?
A viral video on social media shows a conversation between Mia Khalifa and Steven Bartlett during an episode of 'The Diary Of A CEO' podcast. In the clip, Bartlett asks Mia about her favourite cricketer, to which she responds, "Hardik Pandya was my favourite cricketer."
When Bartlett expresses surprise and asks if she actually watches cricket, Mia replies that she began watching the sport because of Hardik. She describes him as "the ultimate clutch player and a true saviour for the Indian cricket team" and admires his confidence, attitude, and fashion sense.
Bartlett then asks why she holds him in such high regard. Mia responds by saying, "Guys like him are born only once in a century. I never see fear in his eyes. He never feels pressure. That’s the reason I love him."
An X user shared the video and wrote, "Former Adult Star Mia Khalifa reveals Hardik Pandya as her favorite cricketer."
Another Instagram user who shared the video captioned it, "Beauty with brains," while the on-screen text overlay reads: “She knows his value, unlike Indians – Former adult star Mia Khalifa reveals Hardik Pandya as her favorite cricketer. Her knowledge >>>>>"
India TV did investigation
As the video was going viral we decided to investigate the claim. To verify the claim, we first did a Google Open Search to see if Mia Khalifa has spoke about Hardik Pandya or not. However, we did not found any news or interviews to support the claim. Further, we did a reverse image search of the keyframes of the viral video which led us to the full interview featuring Mia Khalifa was uploaded to 'The Diary Of A CEO' YouTube channel on May 18, 2023. The episode is titled 'Mia Khalifa Opens Up About The Dark Side Of The Adult Entertainment Industry | E248.'
We watched the full one-hour, seven-minute episode, and at no point did Mia Khalifa mention Hardik Pandya or cricket. Instead, the podcast focused on her personal experiences, including struggles with anxiety and depression, low self-confidence, undergoing therapy, her relationships, personal development, and the impact of social media.
Furthermore, a close analysis of the viral video revealed that the lip movements did not align with the audio, pointing towards possible tampering. The audio itself contained unnatural pauses, abrupt cuts, and a robotic tone, further indicating that it was likely manipulated or generated using artificial intelligence (AI). To confirm its authenticity, we examined the clip using the AI detection tool Hive Moderation, which concluded with 99.8 per cent confidence that the audio in the viral video was artificially generated.
What came out in Fact Check?
The viral claim that Mia Khalifa named Hardik Pandya as her favourite cricketer is entirely false. The video in question features AI-generated audio, and there is no record of Mia Khalifa ever publicly mentioning Hardik Pandya or expressing any opinion about him. People are advised to remain cautious and not believe such misleading claims circulating on social media.
Also Read: Fact Check: Was Mohammed Shami forced to break his roza during Champions Trophy match? | Know truth
Also Read: Fact Check: No, Pakistan army chief did not gift Kashmir's map to PM Modi, viral photo AI-generated