A video going viral on social media claims that former Indian Army Chief Manoj Pande criticised India’s support for Israel and warned that it is turning the Indian Army into an “ethnic force.”
In the video, he is heard saying that Israeli instructors are training Indian soldiers and teaching them to dehumanise Muslims and Sikhs, which could lead to a mutiny within the army.
Fact Crescendo received several requests from readers on our WhatsApp Helpline (9049053770) to verify this claim.
We found that the video is fake and digitally manipulated using AI-tools. General Pande did not make any such remarks in his original speech.
WHAT’S THE CLAIM?
In the viral video, Genral Pande is heard saying, “You know the biggest loss of supporting Israel? Our Indian army had always been trained to be an ethical force; the current situation is causing it to become an ethnic force. Mark my words, this situation is going towards a complete mutiny. We have all seen what is happening in Assam. Our army is being trained by Israeli instructors, whose first instruction is that all the Muslims and Sikhs are not humans. They first teach how to dehumanize them, and then they are oppressed. This is not good. It will lead to an internal revolt if this continues.”
FACT-CHECK
Using keywords, we tracked down the original video and the event where General Pande was speaking.
We found that he had delivered a speech at a programme organised by Delhi Marathi Pratishtan at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre on 14 March.
The topic of his speech was “Nation Building and Leadership: A Soldier’s Perspective.” He spoke mainly in Marathi with some English.
A clip from this programme was also shared by Press Trust of India on its social media account on the same day.
In the original speech, he was talking about how the armed forces should prepare for future security challenges and modern warfare. He did not mention Israel, religion, or the Indian Army becoming an ethnic force.
When we compared the viral clip with the original video, it became clear that the visuals were taken from the same event. However, the audio in the viral video does not match the speech delivered by Pande.
This shows that the original footage has been used but the audio has been changed and added later using artificial intelligence tools.
The fact-checking unit of the Press Information Bureau also addressed the viral clip. It said that the video is a deepfake and has been digitally manipulated to falsely show General Manoj Pande making controversial remarks about the army.
The agency also warned people to be cautious about such misleading videos.
CONCLUSION
The viral claim is false. The video of General Manoj Pande has been edited with AI-generated audio, and he did not make the statements heard in the viral clip.
Title: AI-Edited Clip Falsely Shows Ex Army Chief Criticising India’s Support for Israel
Fact Check By: MayurDeokar
Result: False
