Altered Video Of CDS Anil Chauhan Going Viral.

Recently a video of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Anil Chauhan allegedly admitting that India lost  7 jets during Operation Sindoor and India requested a ceasefire went viral on social media. In the video, CDS Anil Chauhan can be heard saying, “…that there do runners-up in war and this will be giving examples of Operation Sindoor which still continues. It’s important to acknowledge here that although we lost 7 Indian jets, we went airborne again after just 3 days and that alone shows our resilience. Our preparedness level has to be very high in 24X7 365 days. Again coming back to the same point that an officer today needs to be much more well read, so that we can contribute to this particular aspect of securing a nation. As was said earlier that there do runners up in war…..we are living in that kind of environment and it’s only scholar warriors that can ensure this readiness by thinking differently, connecting the dots across this complete kind of a spectrum And in the same spirit it must also be said our Hindu ideology stands for peace. Yes we did ask for a ceasefire not out of weakness but because we did not want South Asia to suffer the horrors of an all-out war. Peace after all is the higher path. I’ve actually given you a number of examples..”

X Link | Archived Link.

However, as we investigated, we came to know that the video has been digitally manipulated. Here’s the fact check.

Fact Check 

We started our investigation by taking screenshots from the viral video and conducting a reverse image search. This led us to the official X handle of ANI where a similar video was uploaded on 25 July 2025. The tweet read, “#WATCH | At an event in Delhi, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan says, “The warrior today need to master all three levels of warfare – tactical, operational and strategic in all domains….”

Taking this clue, we conducted a relevant keyword search which led us to the official YouTube channel of ANI where we found a longer version of the video uploaded on 25 July 2025. From around the timestamp 20:15, CDS Anil Chauhan can be heard saying, “Again coming back to the same point that an officer today needs to be much more well read so that we can contribute to this particular aspect of securing a nation. As was said earlier that there are no runner ups in war and this will be giving examples of Operation Sindoor which still continues. Our preparedness level has to be very high in 24X7X365 days. We are living in that kind of environment and it’s only scholar warriors that can ensure this readiness by thinking differently, connecting the dots across this complete kind of a spectrum. I’ve actually given you a number of examples…”

Nowhere in the video, CDS Chauhan mentions that India lost 7 jets during Operation Sindoor or that India urged for a ceasefire.

Another video can be seen on the Official Facebook page of ANI where CDS Chauhan can be heard saying that there are no runners-up in war…”

Further, we found a tweet on the X handle of PIB Fact Check refuting the viral claim. The tweet reads, “A manipulated video is being shared online, falsely showing Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan admitting 7 jet losses and saying India asked for a ceasefire

#PIBFactCheck:

▶️This is an AI-generated deepfake video 

 ▶️CDS General Anil Chauhan has made no such statement

📣Deepfakes are being used to mislead and spread disinformation -always cross-check with official sources”

This makes it clear that the viral video has been digitally manipulated.

Conclusion 

From our investigation, we can say that the video has been altered. CDS Anil Chauhan didn’t say that India lost 7 jets during Operation Sindoor and India requested a ceasefire. The video has been edited.