Vijaya’s heart sank. She knew the photo was a , a product of sophisticated photo‑editing tools that could blend pixels seamlessly. The next morning, the story was on every news site, and the comment sections were filled with speculation—some praising her “new achievements,” others accusing her of staging a publicity stunt. The Investigation Determined to set the record straight, Vijaya reached out to Arun , a trusted friend who worked as a digital forensic analyst. Arun explained that the image had likely been created using a combination of deep‑fake technology and AI‑enhanced photo manipulation . By extracting Vijaya’s facial features from existing pictures and overlaying them onto a stock photo of a red‑carpet event, the perpetrators had crafted a convincing illusion.