Fact Check: Viral Video Of Army Chief Claiming India Lost 6 Fighter Jets And 250 Soldiers Is Deepfake

What is viral?

Social media user 'Iram Dar' shared the viral video clip, with the caption, "Breaking: Indian Army Chief admits losing 6 jets and 250 soldiers in war against Pakistan."

Several other users across different social media platforms have shared this video with similar claims.

Investigation

In the 40-second viral video clip, General Dwivedi can be heard saying, "Non-kinetic quadrant is something which you can start today, and the next war, which uh we are looking at it may happen soon and we have to prepare accordingly, as already brought out by director that in this we have to fight this battle together."

He then reportedly says, "This non-kinetic has to be fought together. We already have six jets and 250 soldiers, but we will never give up...we will learn."

("We lost six fighter planes and 250 of our soldiers were killed. But we will not give up and we will keep learning.")

In the viral video, the logo of the news agency ANI is visible, quoting ADGPI as the source, along with the date August 4, 2025. Based on this, we searched and found the original clip of General Dwivedi's speech on the official YouTube channel of ‘ADGPI-INDIAN ARMY’. According to the information provided here, this clip is from his address at IIT Madras on August 9, 2025, where he spoke about 'Operation Sindoor'.

In the full 48-minute, 55-second video, the segment starting at 10.57 is the original source of the viral video clip, in which he says, "Non-kinetic quadrant is something which you can start today and the next war which uh we are looking at it may happen soon and we have to prepare accordingly as already brought out by director that in this we have to fight this battle together."

He then says, "...This non-kinetic has to be fought together. So what are the deductions that, as far as the whole nation approach, we'll be there for the next war, it is not the military alone which will be fighting. Let me assure you very clearly, in this issue, as far as the grey zone is concerned, it's ever-present, and this will remain. As for the multi-domain cyber, cognitive and space, these are the new terms which are coming in, and these are the new terms we need to learn more from you. We can tell you what we want and what we need to counter, but how, when, and why is something you need to give us the answer."

He added, "Non-kinetic quadrant is something which you can start today, and the next war, which uh we are looking at it may happen soon, and we have to prepare accordingly, as already brought out by the director that in this we have to fight this battle together." After it did not say "We already have six jets and 250 soldiers, but we will never give up...we will learn. We have some deductions." ("We lost six fighter planes and 250 of our soldiers were killed. But we will not give up and we will keep learning.")

We also came across this video in several other news reports, none of which mentioned the Army Chief admitting to the loss of fighter jets or the death of 250 soldiers during 'Operation Sindoor' against Pakistan.

We then checked the possibility of AI manipulation in the viral clip using Buffalo University's Deepfake-O-Meter, and nearly all indicators pointed to a high probability of AI manipulation.

The analysis report of AVSRDD (2025) detectors confirmed with 100 per cent certainty that the video was AI-generated.

The LSDA (2024) analysis confirms that around 70 per cent of the video is AI-generated. Similarly, the TALL (2023) detector also reports around 70 per cent AI content. The WAV2LIP-STA (2022) detector indicates a 94 per cent probability of the video being AI-generated, while DSP-FWA (2019) confirms about 70 per cent AI-manipulation.

Additionally, XCLIP (2022) indicators also confirm a near 100 per cent probability of AI manipulation.

For further verification, we contacted our partner, Deepfake Analysis Unit (DAU), an initiative of MCA. The DAU team analysed the video using various tools, which confirmed it was likely AI-generated.

Furthermore, analysis by the Hive AI Audio Classifier confirmed that the 20-second audio clip in the viral video was created using AI.

The Hive AI Deepfake Detector also confirmed AI manipulation in the video.

PIB, the central government’s nodal information agency, has refuted the claims made in this video, calling it fake.

The profile of the user who shared the viral video with the fake claim appears to be influenced by a particular ideology. The fact-check report on other viral claims related to 'Operation Sindoor' can be read here.

Conclusion: The viral video of Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi allegedly acknowledging the loss of six Indian aircraft and the death of 250 soldiers during action against Pakistan during 'Operation Sindoor' is fake and has been manipulated using AI to insert a fake statement.