A video of Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai is circulating online with a false claim that it shows Ghai expressing concern over the saffronisation of the Indian armed forces, saying it would damage the morale of the army.
BOOM found the video has been digitally altered using artificial intelligence. In the original footage, no such remarks were made by the lieutenant general.
In the viral 35-second footage, which carries the logo of TV news channel Republic TV, Ghai can purportedly be heard saying 'the growing influence of saffron politics would corrode the core values of the Indian Army. The lieutenant general is also heard talking about religious polarisation, internal distrust, and weakening combat effectiveness, expressing worry over political polarisation within the army.
The Claim
A verified X handle (@Baba_Thoka) posted the video and wrote, "Breaking News: Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai (Retd) slams BJP & Narendra Modi’s politics, wxarns that any saffronization or politicization of the Indian Armed Forces will destroy morale. “We will resist all attempts to make the Indian Army subservient to Hindutva.” (sic)
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
What We Found: Viral Video Is A Deepfake
1. The Original Report: We found the original footage, streamed live on Republic World's YouTube channel on October 18, 2025. We reviewed Ghai’s remarks during the address but could not find any such comment matching the viral video.
2. AI Detector Tool Flags Manipulation: For further verification, we tested the audio in the video with Resemble AI's Audio Deepfake Detection tool, which confirmed that the audio is fake.