Viral AI-Manipulated Image Falsely Depicts Raswapa Using Government Logo at District Convention

Kathmandu. A viral image claiming that the Rastriya Swatantra Party (Raswapa) used the official logo of the Government of Nepal during its district convention has been confirmed as fake. Nepal Fact Check found that the image was generated and manipulated using Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The controversy began after Jana Aastha Weekly editor and journalist Kishor Shrestha shared the image on Facebook on Monday, questioning why a political party would use the government's official logo at a party event. The image appeared to show the government logo on a banner and a certificate displayed during a Raswapa district convention.

The same image was later shared by journalist Virat Anupam, who referred to Raswapa as a “government party,” while Koshi Province Chief Minister Hikmat Karki also posted the image and called for an investigation. The posts contributed to the image spreading widely across social media platforms.

Following the viral claim, Nepal Fact Check launched an investigation after identifying references to Banke district and party secretary Subham Kumar Gupta in the image. Investigators found a star-like watermark associated with Google Gemini AI and used Google's SynthID detection technology, which confirmed that the image had been generated or edited using Google AI tools.

The fact-checking team also reviewed live footage from the actual event where Gupta was elected secretary. The video showed no use of the Government of Nepal's logo on any banners or materials displayed at the program.

Further examination revealed inconsistencies between the person shown in the viral image and Gupta. Investigators concluded that the image had been manipulated using face-swapping technology. The individual in the image was identified as newly elected chairman Vivek Kumar Shrestha, whose older photograph had reportedly been altered using AI tools.

Secretary Gupta told Nepal Fact Check that no certificates had been distributed during the event and described the viral claim as entirely false.

 

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