Fact-Checkers Expose Three AI-Manipulated NDTV Reports Spread by Pakistani Accounts

New Delhi:

Three NDTV news reports have been digitally manipulated and circulated online recently. Independent fact-checking organizations have exposed these AI-altered videos as fake.

The falsified content includes an interview with former Army chief General VP Malik, a fabricated report about Bihar politicians allegedly funding a Pakistani political party, and a doctored report on the Tejas crash at the Dubai air show.

BOOM Live, a fact-checking platform, investigated the first fraudulent report which falsely claimed that four BJP-led National Democratic Alliance leaders were under investigation for funding Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Insaf party.

In their Monday evening statement, BOOM Live confirmed: "Both clips are doctored using AI (Artificial Intelligence), with no such reports on the official platforms of their respective news outlets."

The fact-checkers identified telltale signs of AI manipulation, noting "Discrepancies in eye movements and speech" and that "Both clips showed unnatural facial expressions, and repetitive eye movements and speech patterns that do not align with natural human motion, indicating the use of AI-driven visual manipulation."

BOOM Live further stated that "The fabricated videos appear to be part of a wider pattern of AI-manipulated media featuring Indian news personalities delivering politically sensitive statements," connecting these incidents to previous disinformation attempts by Pakistan-based social media accounts following Indian military operations.

The second falsified report concerned an NDTV contributor's coverage of the tragic IAF Tejas fighter jet crash during a Dubai air show. The altered video falsely attributed the crash to negligence and alleged a conspiracy behind the incident.

The third fake video was exposed by D-Intent Data, another fact-checking organization. They revealed that an interview with General Malik had been digitally altered to make it appear as though he discussed sensitive topics like "religious wars" and other communal matters—subjects the Indian military deliberately avoids.

D-Intent Data stated: "FACT: Pakistani propaganda accounts are circulating a digitally altered video of former Indian Army chief Gen VP Malik, falsely claiming that he endorsed an alleged RSS plan to remove 50 per cent 'non-caste Hindus' from the Army within the next three years."

To demonstrate the deception, they shared both the original and manipulated versions of the interview.