Video of Sadhguru Asking to “Invest with Suraj” is Fake With AI Voiceover

A group of Facebook pages and profiles has been uncovered for engaging in fraudulent activities on the social media giant. They’re tricking people with fake ads and by using AI to make fake celebrity voices. We found many Facebook pages and a profile called Suraj Sharma, but we think that’s a made-up name. These fake accounts are doing the scam. They put up a bunch of ads with fake voices that sound like Sadhguru, and they keep showing these ads all the time on Facebook. The tricky part is they’re fooling folks into believing they can make lots of money quickly if they invest just a little. But there’s a catch—first, they have to join private Telegram channels linked to this sneaky group.

Here’s how this sneaky plan works: They’re trying to get people to put in money by promising big returns. They’re not playing fair, though. They lead people to secret Telegram channels as part of their scam. In these channels, they show off fake pictures and videos. These pictures and videos make it seem like regular folks have made tons of money quickly. We found these secret Telegram channels that are in on this scam. But the tricky part is, we’re not sure who exactly is running this whole thing.

We uncovered the network responsible for promoting bogus advertisements on the platform by digging through Facebook’s Ad Library. We found a Facebook page named Suraj Sharma – Indian Mentor which is tangled up in this deceitful operation by using the name of Sadhguru.

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Fact Check

During our investigation, we first contacted Sadhguru’s Isha Foundation for their take on the matter. The organization swiftly pointed us to a public notice they issued back on October 5, 2023. In this notice, they explicitly called out these scams, urging everyone to stay alert and cautious amidst these misleading activities.

The notice read “It has come to our notice that financial scams in the name of Suraj sharma, Laila Rao and Amir are circulating on social media platforms like facebook, instagram and telegram and that these are using Sadhguru’s videos and images and also cloning his voice,” the statement said.

“We have reported this to the respective social media platforms stating that Sadhguru is not involved in this and they are fake and fraudulent and also we have filed cyber complaints against these with the police,” it added.

After this, we delved into these counterfeit advertisements, what we found was a mix of unrelated news clips, phony text graphics, and even fabricated voice-overs, including AI-generated replicas mimicking Sadhguru’s distinctive tone. The synthetic voice, strikingly similar to Sadhguru’s, cunningly endorses someone named Suraj Sharma and prompts individuals to invest in his plan via a private Telegram channel.

Finally, we reached out to AI Voice Detector, a specialized platform for spotting AI-generated voices. Impressively, the website returned a probability score of over 86%, indicating that one of the voice samples indeed originated from an AI source.

Next in our investigation, we directed our attention to the posts shared on the ‘Suraj Sharma – Indian Mentor’ Facebook page. Within this page, the alleged Suraj Sharma, likely a concocted persona, proudly displayed numerous images suggesting a lavish and opulent lifestyle. However, our investigative tactic took an intriguing turn when we decided to conduct a reverse image search of these showcased pictures.

Shockingly, our search revealed that the individual portrayed as Suraj Sharma is none other than Arslan Aslam, a well-known social media influencer, musician, and singer based in Dubai. It appears that Aslam’s images were deceitfully appropriated to fabricate the fictional identity of Suraj Sharma, a supposedly thriving investment manager living a luxurious life in Dubai. However, all of it is fake.

Here is the picture of Arslan Aslam posted on fake FB page and on his real Instagram page.

Thus, these interconnected discoveries paint a vivid picture of how the individual behind this scam, operating under the guise of Suraj Sharma, is manipulating Sadhguru’s videos using AI-generated voiceovers. This deceptive tactic aims to lure unsuspecting individuals into investing their hard-earned money, enticing them with the promise of doubling or even tripling their investments. This scheme not only exposes the manipulation of revered figures’ voices but also highlights the perilous potential of AI-generated voice imitations. It’s a stark reminder of how such sophisticated manipulations can dangerously exploit people’s trust and financial vulnerability.

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