Fact-Check: Viral Pictures of Hardik Pandya and Sara Ali Khan Are AI-Generated

Images of cricketer Hardik Pandya and Bollywood actress Sara Ali Khan have been circulating on social media, with claims that the duo celebrated Christmas together. However, an investigation by Vishvas News confirmed that these pictures are not genuine but AI-generated. The seemingly festive photos were nothing more than digitally fabricated creations.

Claim

On December 26, 2024, a Facebook user "IAS Fans Club India" shared these images with the caption: “Hardik Pandya and Sara Ali Khan enjoying Christmas…” Additional similar posts were shared by the same page on December 23, 2024.

Investigation

Upon closer inspection of the images, several inconsistencies were observed: The facial features appeared unnaturally smooth and overly refined. Clothing details, such as folds and textures, were noticeably absent. Lighting and shadows lacked coherence, and the blurred background looked artificial. Sara Ali Khan’s face, in particular, had an overly doll-like appearance. These irregularities raised doubts about the authenticity of the pictures. To verify further, we analyzed the images using AI image detection tools.

Results of the Analysis

Each image was assessed using the AI detection tool Hive Moderation, which provided the following results:
First Image: 98.9% probability of being AI-generated.

Second Image: 99.8% probability of being AI-generated.

Third Image: 99.9% probability of being AI-generated.

Fourth Image: 99.8% probability of being AI-generated.

Fifth Image: 99.6% probability of being AI-generated.

Sixth Image: 99.9% probability of being AI-generated.

AI expert Ansh Mehra corroborated the findings, stating, “These photos are fake. Such images can easily be created using AI tools from a prompt.”

Conclusion

The viral photos claiming to show Hardik Pandya and Sara Ali Khan celebrating Christmas together are fabricated. Vishvas News' investigation, supported by AI detection tools, confirmed the images are AI-generated with probabilities ranging from 98.9% to 99.9%.