For several days, Payal Dhare — better known online as Payal Gaming — remained publicly silent as her name trended across X and other platforms, attached to claims that a woman in a circulating private video was her. The clip, shared and reshared with little verification, became the latest in a growing genre of viral controversies where insinuation spreads faster than evidence.
The speculation gained traction not because of confirmation, but because of familiarity. Payal Gaming is one of India’s most recognisable faces in online gaming, a creator whose rise from livestreams to international awards has made her a household name among younger audiences. That visibility, experts note, often makes public figures uniquely vulnerable to viral falsehoods — especially those involving sexualised content.
When Payal finally issued a statement, she did so with careful clarity. The individual depicted in the video, she said, “is not me,” adding that it had “no connection to my life, my choices, or my identity.” The content circulating under her name, she argued, was not merely inaccurate but harmful.
Speaking Out Against Digital Harm
In her statement, posted on X, Payal described the episode as “deeply hurtful and dehumanising,” pushing back against the notion that such viral content is harmless gossip. The damage, she said, extended beyond screens — affecting real people, families and lives.
The message was notable not just for its denial, but for its broader framing. Payal emphasised the ease with which dignity can be undermined in the digital public square, where altered videos, rumours and anonymous amplification blur the line between truth and spectacle. She urged both users and media organisations to refrain from sharing, reproducing or speculating about unverified material.
At the same time, she confirmed that legal steps were being taken to address what she described as the “misuse of my name and likeness,” signalling a turn toward formal accountability rather than public debate.
Fame, Speculation and the Deepfake Era
The controversy unfolded against a wider backdrop of anxiety over AI-generated content and deepfakes. In recent weeks, similar viral claims have ensnared other creators, including lifestyle influencer Sweet Zannat, who also publicly denied involvement in a widely shared clip attributed to her.
Online reactions to Payal’s case reflected that unease. While some users repeated unverified claims, many others — including those who said they were not her fans — questioned the authenticity of the video itself. “People need to understand how easy it is to create deepfake videos now,” one post read. Another called the use of such content to damage reputations “disgusting.”
Authorities, meanwhile, have reiterated warnings against sharing such clips, noting that the authenticity of several so-called “viral” videos remains unverified and that dissemination may carry legal consequences.
A Career Built in the Open
Payal Dhare’s prominence helps explain both the speed of the rumours and the intensity of the response. She began her YouTube journey in 2019, streaming gameplay from titles like BGMI, PUBG and GTA V. Her interactive style and relatability quickly drew a massive following, and by 2021 she had crossed one million subscribers — later becoming the first Indian female gamer to surpass three million.
Affiliated with S8UL Esports and a recipient of international recognition at the MOBIES gaming awards in 2024, Payal represents a generation of creators whose careers are built almost entirely in public view. That visibility, however, comes with an asymmetry of power: reputations that take years to build can be destabilised overnight by a few viral posts.
In closing her statement, Payal thanked supporters who, she said, gave her strength “when I needed it most.” It was a personal note in an otherwise measured response — one that underscored the human cost of digital rumours in an age where virality often outpaces verification.
