Fact Check: Viral Video Of General Upendra Dwivedi Claiming That He Criticised The Government…
A viral video falsely depicting Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi criticizing the government regarding Taliban policy is confirmed as an AI-generated deepfake.
- Incident date
- May 2026
- Target
- General Upendra Dwivedi
On May 31, 2026, a social media user circulated a video claiming that Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi had publicly criticized the central government’s policies regarding the Taliban in Afghanistan. The video alleged that the General claimed India was merely sending money to the Taliban due to failed government policies, rather than providing ideological direction. This content, which quickly gained traction online, was immediately flagged as a fabrication.
What happened
The viral clip was a manipulated version of footage recorded on May 30, 2026, during a passing-out parade at the National Defence Academy (NDA), where General Dwivedi served as the chief guest. In the original, authentic footage, the General discussed the Indian Army's state of readiness for "Operation Sindoor 2.0" and emphasized the importance of inter-service coordination. The deepfake creators took this original video and utilized AI synthesis to replace the original audio with a synthetic clone of the General’s voice, forcing him to recite false statements regarding foreign policy and the Taliban.
Investigations by multiple independent entities confirmed the manipulation. Forensic analysis conducted via the 'Deepfake-O-Meter' at the UB Media Forensic Lab showed high probabilities of AI interference; specifically, several audio detectors, including 'RawNet2-Vocoder,' scored the audio as 100% likely to be AI-manipulated. Similarly, video detection tools including 'AVSRDD' and 'TALL' identified significant alterations to the visual content. The Indian Ministry of Defence formally denied the claims, explicitly labeling the video a deepfake. Further investigation revealed that the social media account responsible for spreading the clip had a history of sharing AI-manipulated content involving top Indian Army officials, having changed its username nine times since its creation in 2022. The incident highlights the ongoing challenge of weaponized synthetic media used to spread political propaganda and misinformation.