Recently, fake ads misusing the identities of Indian celebrities have proliferated on social media. Well-known personalities such as singer Shreya Ghoshal and actress Rashmika Mandanna have been targeted in these misleading ads. These advertisements contain fabricated news reports that mimic the names, logos and websites of major news outlets, including the Indian Express, News18 and Times Now, to create an air of credibility amongst unsuspecting social media users.
Such fake ads typically use sensational clickbait titles and images designed to grab the attention of the users. For example, an ad showing Shreya Ghoshal crying uses the logo of news outlet Times Now, while the graphic reads, "She didn't know the microphone was turned on, this is probably the end of her career."
Another advertisement, using the logo of Indian Express, one of India's leading English newspapers, features a picture of singer Shreya Ghoshal on one side, while on the other it shows a group of people standing with a placard that says "Freedom for Shreya Ghoshal". The headline, made unapologetically sensational, says, "She just told the truth! - Fans are shocked by the aftermath of Shreya Ghoshal's interview!".
There are many such ads with the singer's picture attempting to show that her career ended and some kind of administrative action was taken against her because she spoke the truth in an interview. It is worth noting that Indian Express itself had already issued an advisory to its readers to avoid such ads two years ago.
Some of these advertisements also feature doctored images. For example, in one ad with a Times Now logo, an edited picture of Shreya Ghoshal is used in which there are deep bruises on her face which indicate that she had been attacked. Along with this, the caption on the image reads, "The whole country is in shock after yesterday's news. Shreya Ghoshal has said goodbye to her normal life." When Alt News investigated this picture, we discovered that it was a screengrab from an interview she did with BBC Asian Network. In the original video, it can be seen that there are no marks or bruises on her face.
Similarly, an advertisement using the News18 logo contains an edited picture of Rashmika Mandanna and shows her in an objectionable position. She is also allegedly quoted as saying, "This is the most shameful day of my life."
Given below are screenshots of a number of verified Twitter accounts through which such advertisements are being run.
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Media professional Joy Das recently tweeted and asked, "Are you guys seeing some spam ads on Twitter using pictures of Shreya Ghoshal and clickbait newspaper cuttings, run by multiple verified accounts with 1 or 0 followers? New scam ads have started appearing on Twitter." Numerous users agreed, and replied to his tweet stating that they were also seeing such ads along with screenshots from several accounts.
Common Pattern: Verified Handle, Few Followers
These ads use sensational language and graphic imagery to grab the attention of users. We noticed that the accounts running these fake ads have a common pattern.
- Firstly, they have almost no followers.
- Second, all these accounts are verified on Twitter.
The verified 'tick' and the name and logo of a popular news outlet often make ordinary social media users fall for them.
What Lies Behind the Fake Ads?
The main purpose of these fake ads is to lure users into fraudulent investment schemes through which people running these ads can make financial gains. These ads contain a link. When users click on this link, they are redirected to fake news websites that act as a mask for scam websites. Every hyperlink on these webpages contains a link to a scam website. When the user clicks on any of the links present there, they are redirected to the scam website. These scam websites promote dubious trading schemes and lure users with the promise of high returns on investing a small amount of money. By using graphics and logos similar to that of famous media outlets, scam websites aim to create an appearance of credibility, with the ultimate aim of luring people into investing in these fraudulent platforms, which are designed to swindle common users.
This is not the first time that scam websites are being promoted on social media using fake advertisements using the images of celebrities and journalists and names of media outlets. Alt News had published a detailed report on this matter in 2023. We had reported in detail that various celebrities, journalists and media organizations in India and abroad are being used to run fake advertisements. We had exposed the pattern associated with this nexus. It also included the names of Indian journalists Karan Thapar, Shweta Singh, industrialist Ratan Tata, etc. The images of these people were being used in the fake advertisements. Later, journalist Karan Thapar filed a complaint with the Delhi Police and informed Facebook's grievance officer about the advertisement with the fake interview. When Facebook did not take any action, Thapar appealed to the grievance appellate committee of the Union government, which ruled in favour of the journalist and directed Facebook to remove the fake interview.
You can read our detailed report by using the link given here: Exclusive: How Facebook pages are misusing names of celebrities and media outlets in misleading ads
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