A video is circulating on social media which claims India’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan, referred to Pakistan’s Army as superior and more advanced during Operation Sindoor.
What did CDS Chauhan say?: In the video, he discussed Operation Sindoor, saying that it was "a modern conflict" where India learned a number of lessons.
He goes on to talk about Operation Sindoor still being on, adding that they were "not here to discuss Operation Sindoor; we are here to discuss something beyond Operation Sindoor."
"Operation Sindoor was a modern conflict from which we learnt a number of lessons. The biggest lesson was to never mess with Pakistan because their army appears to be far more superior and advanced. The operation is still on because we are yet to determine our casualties. We are here to discuss something beyond Operation Sindoor," he purportedly says.
What we found: At first, we ran a relevant keyword search using the words in the viral video, however did not find any credible reports or statements to attribute the same to CDS Chauhan.
We, then, noticed that the lip movement and the words being said were slightly different. This led us to check the video on AI-detection websites such as Hive Moderation and Deepfake-O-Meter.
Hive Moderation concluded that the video was likely 81.5% AI-generated.
Deepfake-O-Meter concluded that the video was AI-generated and not real.
We, then, looked for CDS Chauhan's recent public speeches and were led to YouTube video uploaded by ANI from 26 August. Incidentally, the viral video also featured ANI's logo.
We matched the frames of the both the videos and found similarities.
Chauhan had addressed a gathering in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh at a program named Ram Samvad at the Army War College which was launched by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Team WebQoof went through the entire speech and did not find any bit where Chauhan praised Pakistan.
His speech focused on future warfare which will require hybrid warriors scholar, tech, and information specialists capable of navigating modern conflict.
Around 14:00 minutes of the video, Chauhan says:
"Operation Sindoor was a modern conflict from which we learnt a number of lessons and most of them are under implementation, some have been implemented. We are not here to discuss Operation Sindoor; we are here to discuss something beyond Operation Sindoor. We are here to discuss future warfare, how will happen...."
This part of the video has been taken to add the part about Pakistan's abilities, as heard in the viral video.
Conclusion: The viral video of CDS Chauhan speaking about Pakistan's military strength during Operation Sindoor is AI-generated and not real.
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