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A fabricated video featuring Congress MP Shashi Tharoor recently circulated on social media, claiming to show the politician critiquing the Indian government and praising Pakistan's role in international diplomacy. The manipulated clip surfaced following claims regarding the US-Iran conflict and was shared by various international accounts to suggest a shift in the MP's political stance.

What happened

The viral one-minute video depicted Shashi Tharoor purportedly criticizing the Indian government for a strategic failure in light of US President Donald Trump crediting Pakistan for a ceasefire. The deepfake included fabricated statements where Tharoor allegedly mocked Indian audiences for their interest in cinematic films like 'Dhurandhar 2' while ignoring real-world geopolitical shifts.

Investigation revealed that the footage was a manipulated version of an original interview Tharoor conducted with journalist Rajdeep Sardesai on India Today, which aired on December 26, 2025. The deepfake creators used the original visual context but altered the audio and added a fabricated masthead titled 'India Loses At Global Stage' to lend the video false credibility. Fact-checkers utilized AI voice detection tools, which returned a low authenticity score for the audio, confirming digital manipulation. Shashi Tharoor publicly addressed the incident, warning followers to rely exclusively on his verified social media channels for authentic updates, as he has been the target of multiple deepfake campaigns by the same sources.