A video of Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi appearing to show him criticise the central government's policy towards Afghanistan is a deepfake.
In the video, Dwivedi is purportedly heard saying that the Indian government should provide ideological guidance and training to the Taliban in Afghanistan as a diplomatic strategy, rather than extending only financial support.
In the original press conference, the Indian Army Chief spoke about national defence matters and the country's preparedness for potential military operations.
The Claim
Several verified handles on X shared the video with the caption, "Due to failed policies of Central Government, India is doing nothing except sending Money to Taliban government. How can money alone do everything?" — Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi".
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What We Found: Viral Video Is A Deepfake
1. The Original Press Conference Video: We first broke keyframes from the viral video and traced them to the original press conference video featuring Dwivedi, published by ANI on May 30, 2026. After reviewing the full video, we identified several similarities with the viral footage, but the statement attributed to the Indian Army Chief does not appear anywhere in the press conference.
During the press conference, General Dwivedi spoke about India's combat readiness, the prospects of Operation Sindoor 2.0, and a range of other defence-related matters.
2. AI Detection Tools Flag Manipulation: We also analysed the video using multiple AI detection models available on Deepfake-o-Meter, an AI detection platform developed by the University at Buffalo. Several of these models detected signs of AI-generated manipulation, indicating that the video had been digitally altered.