A video showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that India’s Rafale jets were destroyed by Pakistan and that it affected India’s global image is a deepfake.
BOOM found the original video, where Modi can be seen talking about the India–France partnership. This confirms that he did not make any such statement. We also tested the footage using an AI detection tool, which indicated that the original footage was altered using artificial intelligence to create the viral video.
In the viral video, Modi appears to be saying that the destruction of India’s Rafale jets by Pakistan caused embarrassment on the world stage. The viral video also appears to show that the Indian prime minister blamed French President Emmanuel Macron for the supposed failure and its impact on India’s reputation.
The Claim
X handle @ManipurPost5 shared the video and wrote, "Indian PM Modi surrendering and accepting the Indian Air Force’s Rafale defeats against Pakistan. These shameless Indian armed forces can only oppress innocent civilians in Manipur. FREE MANIPUR!"
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
What We Found: Video Is AI-Generated
1. Original Speech by Modi: We reverse searched selected keyframes from the video, which directed us to a February 17, 2026, X post by news agency IANS. In that post, Modi is seen wearing the same outfit, and the background closely resembles the one seen in the viral footage.
The live stream of Modi’s speech delivered in Mumbai, Maharashtra on February 17 can be seen on the official YouTube channel of the Ministry of External Affairs.
However, we did not find any instance in the speech where Modi can be heard surrendering or acknowledging any defeat of the Indian Air Force’s Rafale aircraft against Pakistan as claimed.
2. AI Detector Tool Flags Manipulation: For further confirmation, we also tested the video on AI detector tool Deepfake-o-Meter, developed by the University at Buffalo. The test using several parameters on the tool showed that the video does not show authentic visuals and is manipulated using the help of artificial intelligence.
