A digitally altered video featuring an Indian Army officer, allegedly circulated by Pakistani propaganda networks, has been debunked by fact-checkers. The viral clip falsely showed South Western Army Commander Lt Gen Manjinder Singh criticizing the Indian Army’s threshold exercises, claiming they were mere “political optics to boost the image for the Bihar polls”.
The Press Information Bureau (PIB)’s Fact Check unit intervened, releasing both the doctored and the original versions of the video. They clarified that Lt Gen Singh made no such remarks and stated, “This AI-generated fake video is being circulated to mislead people and create distrust against the Indian Armed Forces.”
Original vs. Fake Clip
The authentic video, recorded in Bikaner, Rajasthan, captured Lt Gen Singh discussing the Southern Command’s preparedness and emphasizing that any terror act against India would be considered an “act of war.” He detailed the army’s focus on night training, stating, “Our focus is on maximum night training; hence, we are carrying out 70% of the training at night and 30% during the day.”
In stark contrast, the AI-generated video depicted Lt Gen Singh speaking against attempts to “saffronise our image” and falsely attributing the statement, “the Indian Army belongs only to the Republic, not to Modi,” to him. The PIB reiterated that these remarks were never made and urged the public to verify information before sharing potentially misleading content online.
Previous Debunked Claims
This incident follows similar instances where PIB debunked fabricated videos. Notably, an altered video of Western Command Chief Lieutenant General Manoj Kumar Katiyar falsely suggested payments were made to the Afghan Taliban to incite actions against Pakistan. The PIB highlighted the danger of such AI-manipulated content, warning that it is being used to sow panic and misinformation, and urged citizens to report any such suspicious content.