Fact-Check: AI Voice Clone Falsely Depicts Sundar Pichai Promoting Fake 'Google Invest' Scheme

A manipulated video falsely shows Sundar Pichai endorsing a fictional investment platform called 'Google Invest,' where he allegedly encourages viewers to invest money for quick financial gains. In the video, Pichai appears to urge people to invest 20,000 rupees, promising a return of 1,80,000 rupees, with no need for investment knowledge. However, this video is fake, created using an AI-generated voice mimicking Pichai. 

Claim

Video shows Google CEO Sundar Pichai endorsing an investment platform named "Google Invest," which promises steady income for Indian citizens. Video link here.

Investigation

ESN performed a reverse image search on a keyframe from the video and traced the original source to a livestream on Google India's YouTube channel, dated July 13, 2020. Pichai’s speech starts at the 12:32 mark, where he talks about Google's $10 billion investment into India's technology sector through the Google for India Digitization Fund. There is no reference to 'Google Invest' in the entire video.

Further analysis was carried out using two AI detection tools, TrueMedia and Hiya, both of which confirmed the video had been manipulated using AI. TrueMedia's tool identified clear signs of digital tampering, including altered facial features and AI-generated audio. 

The report noted that the video's transcript resembled marketing material rather than a natural conversation, using buzzwords like "incredible opportunity" and "revolutionary technology" often seen in fraudulent investment pitches. Hiya’s analysis showed that the voice in the video had only a 1% match to a real human voice, further confirming it was AI-generated.

Conclusion

ESN's investigation revealed that the video is doctored, combining real footage of Pichai with an AI-cloned voice. Additionally, there is no legitimate platform named 'Google Invest.'