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.

Click here to view an archive.

Click here to view an archive.

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.

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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.

A video claiming to show a Pakistani panelist mocking Abp News anchor Chitra Tripathi in a news debate and making sexist remarks about her appearance is edited and does not depict a real exchange during the broadcast.

BOOM found that the video has been digitally edited by a Pakistani Facebook user, Atta Muhammad Mari, who produces satirical videos by inserting himself as a panelist into Indian news debates.

The Claim:

The video is being shared on X with the claim that it shows a real heated exchange between a Pakistani panelist and Tripathi. In the video, the panelist is heard taunting her over her appearance and mockingly alleging that her makeup expenses are borne by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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What We Found:

1) Original visuals from May 2025 Abp News debate on India-Pakistan tensions

We checked the original broadcast from May 2, 2025, in which Tripathi can be seen wearing the same outfit. We found that the Pakistani panelist in that debate is not the same person as seen in the viral video.

Additionally, upon reviewing the full debate, we did not find any such exchange where sexist remarks were made about Tripathi’s appearance. While the debate did turn heated, it does not match the visuals or dialogue heard in the viral video.

In the original broadcast, the moment at 18:07 where Tripathi can be heard asking the Pakistani panelist, “You’ll handle Balochistan,” matches the opening segment of the viral video, establishing that the unedited footage has been taken from this broadcast.

2) Edited satire video from Pakistani Facebook user

We found that the edited satire video was posted by a Pakistani account Facebook user, Atta Muhammad Mari, who creates parody content by inserting himself into Indian news debates to mock and defend Pakistan.

The edited video was posted on April 6 by the same handle.

We also found that the account regularly shares similar edited videos featuring other Hindi news channel anchors.

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3) Tripathi's X response  

Tripathi also posted on X on April 8 calling out Congress leader Alka Lamba for posting the video. 

A video of an Indian news anchor appearing to lose his temper on air over Pakistan's role in brokering a ceasefire between the United States and Iran is being shared on social media, particularly by pro-Pakistan handles.

BOOM found that the video is AI-generated and riddled with visual inconsistencies, including a notepad that appears to merge into the desk and on-screen text that appear garbled and nonsensical.

The video surfaced shortly after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire on April 8, 2026, with Pakistan emerging as the central diplomatic actor in brokering the deal between the two sides.

The Claim

The video, which shows the anchor slamming his hand on the desk and appearing visibly agitated, is being shared with the claim that Indian media is in chaos over Pakistan's diplomatic success. The clip is being circulated by pro-military Pakistani accounts, journalists, and even the spokesperson for Pakistan's president, Murtaza Solangi (archive). 

What We Found:

1) Visual Inconsistencies Throughout The Video

The video is dotted with the kind of artifacts typical of poorly executed AI generation. Around the 9-second mark, when the anchor slams his hand on the desk, the notepad does not simply fall. Instead, its pixels appear to merge into the surface of the desk itself.

In several frames, the anchor's fingers pass through the paper rather than resting on top of it. As his hands move, the paper morphs from a rectangular sheet into a smaller, amorphous white shape, before reappearing in an entirely different position near the bottom of the frame.

2) Garbled On-Screen Text

The on-screen graphics offer perhaps the clearest giveaway. "Lahore" is spelt as "Layore" in the Devanagari script, "Pakistan" appears in several nonsensical spellings, and the large red banner across the bottom of the screen reads something resembling "PAKISTAN YUKANE." The channel branding is also off. While the logo bears a passing resemblance to ABP News, the channel name reads "BIBW News." No such channel exists.

3) A Textbook Case Of 'AI Slop'

The video is a textbook example of "AI slop", a term for low-quality, mass-produced content generated using AI tools, typically riddled with errors and pushed out with little regard for accuracy. 

A deepfake of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor appearing to show him praising Pakistan for stepping in to end the ongoing US-Iran war and criticising the Indian government over a “strategic failure” has surfaced online.

BOOM found the original interview of Tharoor with India Today which predates the West Asia conflict.

The video is being shared after US President Donald Trump credited Pakistan for mediating a temporary ceasefire between Iran and US.

In the viral 1-minute-long video, Tharoor purportedly says, "If you saw Donald Trump's latest tweet crediting Pakistan with stepping in to end the Iranian war, you know why I am in shock. It feels like a massive strategic failure by the Indian government. I have never criticised Prime Minister Modi or the BJP before, but today silence is just blind loyalty."

Besides that, Tharoor also appears to praise Pakistan for “rebranding itself as a global net stability provider” and mocking Indians for celebrating cinematic fantasies like the film 'Dhurandhar 2' while losing in the real world. Dhurandhar - The Revenge, sequel to the 2025 spy-action thriller Dhurandhar, released on March 19, 2026, saw massive popularity among Indian audiences and beyond, which Tharoor appears to be referring to here. 

The Claim 

The video was posted by pro-Pakistan X handle @InsiderWb with the caption, "Breaking: Shashi Tharoor rips apart Modi Government "If you saw Donald Trump’s latest tweet crediting Pakistan with stepping in to end the Iranian war, you know why I am standing here in shock. It feels like a massive strategic failure by the Indian government."

Click here to view the post and here for an archive. 

Pakistani journalists Kamran Khan, Syed Sammer Abbas also amplified the same video via X posts.  

The X handle @InsiderWb has earlier posted deepfake videos featuring Shashi Tharoor and Indian government officials, which BOOM debunked. Read here. 

What We Found: Viral Video Is A Deepfake 

1. The Original News Broadcast: A reverse image search of keyframes led to an older interview of Shashi Tharoor with veteran journalist Rajdeep Sardesai on India Today, aired on December 26, 2025, before the ongoing conflict.

In the interview, both Sardesai and Tharoor are seen in the same attire as in the viral video, and the background also matches the original broadcast.

Notably, the viral clip features a fabricated masthead reading, “India Loses At Global Stage,” which does not appear in the original telecast.

2. AI Voice Detector Tool Flags Manipulation: For further confirmation, we tested a voice sample of Tharoor from the viral video on the AI voice detector tool Hiya, which gave a low authenticity score, indicating that the voice in the video is digitally manipulated.

Tharoor also raised concerns about deepfake videos of him circulating online and urged followers to rely only on his verified social media handles for authentic updates.