India: Army says viral AI deepfake video falsely showed a lieutenant general saying China had taken parts of Arunachal Pradesh
In late October 2026 a video circulated on social media in which Lt Gen Girish Kalia, who commands the Indian Army's Spear Corps, appeared to say that China had taken control of areas of Arunachal Pradesh and that Indian forces lacked supplies. India TV reports that the Army called the video fake, said it had been made by editing an old video of the officer with the help of AI, and posted the original footage; India TV also reports that some opposition politicians had reposted the video and asked the government to respond. The fact-checker BOOM traced the footage to the officer's October 2023 media briefing in Kupwara about infiltration across the Line of Control, and reports that a deepfake voice detector rated the viral audio as likely a deepfake. Who made the video is not reported.
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 2 sources · Added 27/10/2026