Deepfakes of journalists Ravish Kumar and Shiv Aroor are being shared on social media to falsely claim that they praised Pakistan and criticised the Narendra Modi government over Pakistan’s role in mediating the US-Israel–Iran ceasefire.
BOOM found that the videos have been digitally altered using AI-generated voiceovers
On April 8, 2026, the United States and Iran agreed to a conditional two-week ceasefire, which included provisions to allow shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, with Pakistan playing a mediatory role in facilitating talks. However, the ceasefire has remained fragile and has not fully taken effect, with Iran citing continued Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon as a key reason for keeping the strait largely restricted.
The Claim:
The two videos are being shared on X with captions claiming that the Indian media is praising Pakistan and criticising the Narendra Modi government for missing out on being a negotiator.
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What We Found:
1) Al Detection Tool Results:
BOOM analysed the audios from the viral videos using the Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector, which returned authenticity scores of 6/100 and 29/100, indicating that the voices are highly likely to be AI-generated deepfakes.
2) Original Videos
We checked Ravish Kumar’s official YouTube channel and Shiv Aroor’s show on NDTV and found no instance where they made the statements seen in the viral videos. We also identified the original videos from which the footage was taken and digitally altered.
Additionally, the viral video featuring Aroor includes a news ticker reading “India loses status as a net security provider,” which does not appear in the original broadcast or in any other show, indicating that it has been digitally added.
