New Delhi, December 19, 2025 – Popular Indian gaming influencer Payal Dhare, better known as Payal Gaming, has become the latest victim of a vicious online deepfake scandal, with a fabricated explicit video falsely linked to her exploding across social media platforms like X, Telegram, and Instagram.
The controversy erupted mid-December when short clips, often labeled “Payal Gaming Dubai MMS” or “1:20-minute viral leak,” began circulating widely. Netizens claimed the footage showed Payal in a private intimate moment during her recent trip to Dubai—where she had gone viral earlier for cheering at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final between India and Australia. These clips, typically 8-10 seconds long, feature a woman vaguely resembling Payal alongside a man, baited with sensational thumbnails and “full video” links that redirect to phishing sites, malware traps, or paywalled scams demanding payments up to ₹5,000.
No Original Source Exists—It’s All Fabricated
Fact-checks by outlets like MyKhel, Filmibeat, and digital experts confirm: There is no authentic “original” video of Payal Gaming. The circulating content is either AI-generated deepfake or recycled clips from unrelated adult videos, manipulated with her face via deep learning tools for lip-syncing, lighting matches, and expressions. No verified leak from Dubai or elsewhere has surfaced, and suspicious links (e.g., TeraBox, Telegram bots) lead nowhere legitimate.
Payal broke her silence on Instagram on December 17, posting a heartfelt note: “I never expected to have to speak publicly about something so personal and distressing… The individual depicted in that video is not me, and it has no connection to my life, my choices, or my identity.” She slammed the “deeply hurtful and dehumanizing” misuse of AI, urging fans and media to stop sharing it, and revealed she’s pursuing legal action.
Fans rallied fiercely, flooding comments with defenses like “AI scam to ruin her image!” and “Not Payal—stop spreading poison.” Her rumored boyfriend, Parv Singh, also dismissed the rumors, per recent reports.
A Pattern of AI Abuse
This mirrors recent hoaxes like the “19-minute viral video” falsely tied to influencer Sweet Zannat, which she debunked as fake. Experts warn of a rising trend: Opportunistic accounts exploit celebrities’ popularity (Payal’s 4.5M YouTube subs, 4.2M Instagram followers) to peddle deepfakes for views, scams, or harassment.
Payal, 25, from Chhattisgarh, rose from village roots to become India’s first female gamer with 3M+ YouTube subscribers since 2019. Known for BGMI, PUBG, and GTA V streams with S8UL Esports, she’s won awards like Female Streamer of the Year and met PM Modi to champion gaming careers for women.
Call to Action: Stop the Spread
Cyber experts advise: Verify before sharing, use reverse image search, report deepfakes, and avoid dubious links. India’s IT rules now mandate platforms to swiftly remove such non-consensual content, with penalties looming.
As Payal fights back legally, her saga underscores the dark side of viral fame. Support creators—don’t fuel fakes.