RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra never walked out of DD Morning Show: PIB

NEW DELHI: Walkout or fake-out? A viral claim that Reserve Bank of India governor Sanjay Malhotra stormed out of an interview on Doordarshan’s DD Morning Show has been debunked by the Press Information Bureau’s fact-checking unit.

PIB Fact Check said on August 21 that the claim circulating on social media is fake, adding that Doordarshan never hosted Malhotra on the programme.

The posts appear to have been designed to make the alleged incident look like a genuine television interview involving the RBI governor. According to PIB Fact Check, however, the images being circulated were generated using artificial intelligence.

The fake material does not stop at misleading visuals. PIB Fact Check warned that the posts redirect users to unauthorised third-party websites, including platforms identified as quoraze and lunafixo, which promote fraudulent investment schemes.

The warning is particularly significant because the posts use the name and image of a senior financial regulator to give the investment pitches an appearance of credibility. A purported interview with the RBI governor could easily make an online investment offer appear more trustworthy to unsuspecting users.

PIB Fact Check urged people to verify such claims through official and trusted sources before sharing them. It also asked users who encounter suspicious content related to the Government of India to report it to the fact-checking unit.

The episode is another example of how AI-generated images can be used alongside fabricated narratives to create seemingly credible news events. In this case, the alleged television appearance never took place, while the accompanying investment links presented an additional fraud risk.

The takeaway is simple: if a sensational interview involving a top public official appears online, checking the original broadcaster and official sources before clicking on any investment link can prevent a fake story from becoming a costly mistake.