A video of Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is being circulated on social media platforms with a claim that it shows him supporting Israel's recent strikes against Iran.
What did the viral video show?: The 35-seconds-long clip showed Singh saying, "The strike on Iran following Prime Minister Modi's visit to Israel highlights India's alignment with its strategic partner and underscores the calculated nature of the operation. He cautioned Tehran that continued hostile actions will have serious consequences on regional peace and stability, while reiterating India's support for Israel's security and right to defend itself".
What's the truth?: The video has been manipulated using the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. There is no available evidence to support the claim that Singh indeed made such a statement recently.
How did we find that out?: On conducting a simple Google Lens search on the keyframes of the viral video, we found a video published on the official X handle of Asian News International (ANI).
The video was posted on 23 November and showed Singh dressed in a similar attire.
It was shared with a caption that mentioned, "#WATCH | Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh says, "...Today, the land of Sindh may not be a part of India, but civilisationally, Sindh will always be a part of India. And as far as land is concerned, borders can change. Who knows, tomorrow Sindh may return to India again..."
Finding the full version: We found the full-version of the speech available on the official YouTube channel of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
It was posted on 23 November 2025 with a title that said, "RM's speech at ‘Sindhi Samaj Sammelan’ in New Delhi."
In this video, he highlighted the importance of the Sindhi culture and their contribution towards the country.
However, we did not find any mention of Iran or Israel in the entire clip. This indicated towards the possibility of the viral clip being altered.
What did detection tools show?: Team WebQoof passed the viral video through two AI detection tools namely — 'Hive Moderation' and 'DeepFake-O-Meter' to further verify its authenticity.
The first tool showed over 99 percent probability of the video carrying "AI-generated speech".
Five detectors of the second tool showed conclusive results indicating that the video was indeed AI-manipulated.
PIB debunks the claim: The official X handle of Press Information Bureau's (PIB) fact-checking wing clarified that the Defence Minister has not made any such statement.
The post shared on 3 March said, " is being circulated online by Pakistani propaganda accounts, falsely claiming that he made remarks supporting Israel’s attack on Iran..."
Conclusion: It is evident that this video of Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has been manipulated using AI.
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