• By Sharad Prakash Asthana
  • Thu, 04 Dec 2025 06:16 PM (IST)
  • Source:JNM
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A purported video of Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan is going viral on social media. In the video, Chauhan is shown saying that India surrendered Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh to China due to its weak Air Force. Some users are targeting the central government by sharing the video online.

Vishvas News investigated and found the viral video to be edited and a deepfake. The clip is generated with an AI voice and is an edit of a video of Anil Chauhan's address at an event. He has not made any such statement. These fake posts are being used to spread propaganda against the Indian Army by social media accounts that are banned in the country.

What is the viral post?

X-user Hawk's Eye shared an alleged video (archived link) of Anil Chauhan on November 29. The caption reads, "Kerala: Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan, Reviewing Officer of the Passing Out Parade at the Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala, said, 'Although I know that the Indian Government has handed over Arunachal and Ladakh to China due to our weak Air Force, rest assured that the Indian Navy is not weak and Pakistan will never be able to harm any of our port cities.'"

Facebook user Arun Yaduvanshi shared this video on December 1 (archived link) and wrote, "The BJP has sold Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh to China. I know that the Indian government has surrendered Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh to China due to its weak Air Force. The statement of Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan has brought shame to the Modi government. What do the blind devotees still have to see about their fake cowardly father?"

Investigation

To verify the viral claim, Vishvas News first carefully examined the video. The video's time began at 08:51, then briefly changed to 08:50, then jumped again. This suggests the video has been edited.

After this, we searched for this alleged statement of Anil Chauhan using keywords, but no such media report was found.

We took a screenshot of the video and searched it with Google Lens. ANI's X handle posted a video on November 29. The visuals in this clip and the viral clip are identical, except for Anil Chauhan's address.

According to information provided on ANI's X handle, "Kerala: Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan, Reviewing Officer of the Passing Out Parade at the Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala, said, "On the battlefield, the price of incompetence is life, so strive for professional excellence. This is not a choice for you. It is an obligation. Your commitment to professional excellence must be unwavering, so that in peace you are prepared and in war you are victorious..." When I joined the service, military strategy was largely determined by geographical considerations. Today, technology has overtaken geography, making it less relevant. Technology drives most military strategy, operational art, and even the smallest tactics. I want you to focus on this throughout your career. Furthermore, warfare has become more diverse. No single service can win a war alone. All future wars will be fought together. Jointness is the mantra that will make us all successful. Accordingly, we are promoting jointness and integration among the three services... I have said on many occasions in the past that India is a continental and maritime power. But India's ultimate fate will likely be decided at sea, and the Indian Navy will play a key role in securing it. I believe this is a foregone conclusion. Another thing I believe is a foregone conclusion: the Indian Navy will play a key role in any future use of military power to secure our national interests." The video does not contain the statement from the viral video.

In the viral video, at the time frame of 08:51:13, Anil Chauhan can be heard saying that India has surrendered Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh to China due to its weak Air Force.

We checked the video uploaded on ANI's X handle from 08:51:08 to 08:51:25 and he was seen saying, "Today we are at a turning point in history, where things are changing very rapidly. Geopolitics, geoeconomics, technology, warfare, including the strategies and tactics used in war."

This shows that the statement has been added separately in the viral video.

We checked the video of the event uploaded on the Indian Navy YouTube channel and did not hear any such statement from Anil Chauhan.

News related to this program can be seen on the ANI website.

Considering the possibility of AI usage, we checked the audio of the viral video using Google's InVid tool, which showed it to be 93 per cent AI-generated.

For further verification, we contacted our partner, the Deepfakes Analysis Unit (DAU), an initiative of the Trusted Information Alliance (TIA). The team verified the video with Swiss deep-tech company Aurigin.ai. It also found that it was likely manipulated by AI tools.

This proved that the AI-generated voice was added separately. PIB has also termed the viral video a deepfake.

We then searched for the user who shared the viral video, Hawk's Eye. The account, created in July 2024, is said to be based in Pakistan.

Additionally, we found the viral post on an X-account, The Whistle Blower @InsiderWB, which is banned in India. We verified it using a VPN. This post appears to have been made before Hawk's Eye.

This account is said to be from South Asia and some more posts against the Indian Army and security forces have been shared from it, which PIB has described as fake.

Earlier, a deepfake video of Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi had also gone viral on social media, the report of which can be read here.

Conclusion: Some foreign social media accounts are sharing an edited and deepfake video of CDS General Anil Chauhan as part of a propaganda campaign against the Indian Army. However, Anil Chauhan has not made any statement about surrendering Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh to China. The video circulating online is a deepfake.

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