Nearly a month into the Israel-US-Iran War, the world is grappling with supply chain and energy shocks. As nations work towards strengthening diplomatic ties, a video of Shashi Tharoor allegedly criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi over foreign policy has gone viral.
In the viral videothe Congress leader can be heard saying, “What Modi has done remains a historical blunder. You can’t make friends with declining powers and expect India to go ahead. The global south is a reality. China, Russia, and Pakistan are now closer than ever. I feel so sorry to say this, but Pakistan is faring much better diplomatically than India, which has never happened in the past 70 years. I believe we are on our way down. This legacy built on the innocent lives of Gaza will not survive for Netanyahu, and it won’t work for Prime Minister Modi.”
The video has been widely shared on Facebook, X, and Instagram. The archive of one such post can be viewed here.
India Today Fact Check found that this video is a deepfake. In the original video, Tharoor emphasised the need to end the war.
Our probe
Had Tharoor made such comments, it would have been widely reported in the news. However, we found no credible news reports about this. In fact, contrary to the claim, Tharoor recently opined in The Indian Express that India’s position on the ongoing was an example of “responsible statecraft” and not “moral surrender.”
A closer look at the video shows some discrepancies. For instance, Tharoor’s lip movements appear unusual at times and do not consistently match the audio. This suggests that the video may have been altered using AI tools.
A reverse search of the viral clip led us to a post by the news agency PTIwhich contained the original version of the video. In this video, Tharoor does not make any of the statements heard in the viral clip.
In the original video, Tharoor said that the war must end to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He further said, “The balance of the conflict has been entirely against Iran. Much more destruction in Iran, many more missiles have hit targets in Iran than Iranian drones and missiles have hit targets elsewhere. So Iran is on the receiving end.”
Additionally, he emphasised that ending the war should be the primary objective to protect both regional and global economic stability.
The office of Shashi Tharoor also confirmed to India Today Fact Check that the video was fake, and the audio track had been artificially created.
Thus, it is clear that the viral video is a deepfake.
– Ends
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