On the eve of the elections for 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra, former IPS officer Ravindranath Patil accused NCP leader Supriya Sule and Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole of using misappropriated Bitcoin funds in the 2019 assembly elections.
The ex-IPS officer alleged that at that time, Pune Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta and former Deputy Police Commissioner for Cyber Crime Investigation, Bhagyashree Nautke, were also involved in the Bitcoin irregularities.
Later, the BJP released several audio files as evidence of this alleged scam. These files purportedly included voices of Supriya Sule, Nana Patole, Amitabh Gupta, and an audit firm employee, Gaurav Mehta, from 'Sarathi Associates.' However, many claimed these audio clips were AI-generated. Ajit Pawar asserted that one of the voices belonged to his sister, and another was of an individual he worked with.
Meanwhile, Supriya Sule labeled this voice as AI-generated too. During this period, the ED conducted a raid on Gaurav Mehta's residence in Raipur.
Are these audios AI-generated?
India Today’s fact-check team utilized three AI detection tools to scrutinize these audio files. The first tool, TrueMedia, was crafted by Washington University professor Oren Etzioni. The second is the University of Buffalo’s Deepfake-O-Meter, and the third is Hiya's Deepfake Voice Detector, designed to scan for spam and fraudulent calls.
It’s important to note that the results from these tools are not always definitive.
Findings from the tools
TrueMedia:
TrueMedia employs three different detectors to assess the authenticity of audio samples. According to this tool, all four audio samples clearly appeared to be AI-generated. Nevertheless, it lacked certainty regarding Nana Patole's alleged audio sample.
Source: aajtak
Deepfake-O-Meter:
Featuring six detectors, the Deepfake-O-Meter deemed the alleged audios of Supriya Sule, Amitabh Gupta, and Gaurav Mehta as AI-generated with over 80% confidence level. However, its confidence regarding Nana Patole’s sample was relatively lower, but three of its detectors still claimed with over 80% confidence that it was AI-generated.
Hiya's Deepfake Voice Detector:
Source: aajtak
Hiya's Deepfake Voice Detector revealed a strong likelihood that the alleged samples of Supriya Sule, Amitabh Gupta, and Gaurav Mehta were AI-generated. As for Nana Patole’s alleged voice, the tool remained uncertain. Notably, Nana Patole’s sample was a mere six seconds long, a potentially insufficient duration for accurate analysis, possibly leading to the reduced confidence levels in its assessment.
Source: aajtak
Expert Opinions
It’s noteworthy that India Today is part of the 'Misinformation Combat Alliance's Deepfake Analysis Unit' (DAU), comprising a panel of tech and AI experts. DAU’s analysis concluded that three out of the four viral audio clips were AI-generated, yet there was less clarity with Nana Patole's audio. Experts cited two potential reasons: the brevity of the audio clip and its language, Marathi, for which the tools lack proficiency.
Supriya Sule's Response to the Fact-Check
NCP leader Supriya Sule responded to this fact-check, stating, “I am an honest and outspoken servant; my politics are clean. The BJP is attempting to tarnish my image. I have sent BJP a notice.”
