A digitally altered video of an Indian Army officer allegedly circulated by propaganda accounts of Pakistan was fact-checked on Friday.
The viral fake clip showed South Western Army Commander Lt Gen Manjinder Singh apparently criticizing the Indian Army’s threshold exercises as “political optics to boost the image for the Bihar elections.”
The Press Information Bureau (PIB)’s Fact Check unit shared two clips — the doctored and the original, as it fact-checked the fake claims, and clarified that the Lieutenant General made no such remark. “This AI-generated fake video is being circulated to mislead people and create distrust against the Indian Armed Forces,” the PIB said in a tweet.
Original vs fake clip
The original clip, recorded in Bikaner, Rajasthan, showed Lt Gen Singh talking about the Southern Command’s preparedness for any misadventures, and echoing the message that any terror act towards India would be considered an “act of war”.
“The Indian Army is following the political direction of the ‘New Normal’, under which any terror act on the country will be considered an ‘act of war’. The military has to prepare for any such activities. A lot of technologies and capabilities have been introduced for this. Our focus is on maximum night training; hence, we are carrying out 70% of the training at night and 30% during the day,” he was heard saying in the original clip.
The AI video, however, showed Lt Gen Singh speaking against attempts to “saffronise our image” and saying that “the Indian Army belongs only to the Republic, not to Modi.” The PIB clarified that no such remarks were made by Lt Gen Singh, and urged users to verify information before sharing such misleading content on social media.
Fake clip amid Pak-Taliban tensions debunked
Just days before, the PIB Fact Check Unit debunked an altered video of Western Command Chief Lieutenant General Manoj Kumar Katiyar, in which he was falsely heard saying payments have been made to the Afghan Taliban to encourage actions against Pakistan.
“These AI-manipulated videos are being spread to create panic and mislead people. If you spot such content, please report it to us,” the PIB had said.
The clip had surfaced amid heightened border clashes between Pakistand and Afghanistan, and was debunked on October 17.
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