Viral video of Indian CDS Anil Chauhan criticising PM Modi for politicising army is doctored

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted an AI deepfake detection analysis to assess the authenticity of the video and performed a keyword and reverse image search to identify the original source.

Multiple people on social media platform X shared a video on November 10, 2025, claiming to show India’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Anil Chauhan criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for using the army for political purposes. However, the video is AI-generated.

Pakistan and India fought in a four-day conflict earlier in May 2025. Indian fighter jets were shot down by the Pakistan Air Force on the night of May 6-7 in response to the Indian Air Force’s late-night missile strikes at six Pakistani sites, including Subhan Mosque in Bahawalpur’s Ahmedpur East, Bilal Mosque in Muzaffarabad, Abbas Mosque in Kotli, Umalkura Mosque in Muridke, the village of Kotki Lohara in Sialkot district, and Shakargarh.

India kicked off large-scale combined military exercises named ‘Trishul 2025’ near its western border on October 30 amid heightened regional tensions. The war games, involving armoured divisions, fighter aircraft and advanced drone systems, were held across Rajasthan and Punjab to test rapid deployment capabilities. Indian defence officials described the drills as routine preparedness measures.

Meanwhile, legislative assembly elections are being held in Bihar from November 6-11 to elect the 243 members of the Bihar Legislative Assembly. The votes will be counted and the results will be declared on Nov 14. A massive electorate is poised to determine the political future of 1,302 candidates, including 136 women and one third-gender candidate.

HOW IT STARTED

On Nov 10, an X account, that appears to be anti-Indian based on its previous posts and is known for repeatedly sharing AI-altered videos, posted a clip with the following caption: “Breaking news: Indian CDS Anil Chohan slams centre government, ‘A professional army always fights for their country but ever since PM Modi came into power, he always considered the Indian Army as the concubine of his political party, this is exactly why we opposed the saffronisation of the Indian army.’”

The post gained over 28,400 views.

The transcript of the video is provided below:

“I think that the BJP’s expected loss at Bihar elections is mainly because of one single reason that they have kept using the Indian army as a bait to prop up their image. A professional army always fights for its country, but ever since PM Modi came into power, he always considered the Indian army as the concubine of his political party. This is exactly why we oppose the saffronisation of the Indian army. In the Bihar elections, I told my fellow soldiers that they need to spread this slogan, stop the war game, Modi, you have failed in Bihar, and it has worked well.”

The same video was also shared by a PML-N supporter with a similar claim on X, gaining 41,000 views.

The same video with similar claims was shared by multiple PML-N supporters and pro-military accounts on X, as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and and keen public interest in the purported political statement attributed to a senior Indian military officer amid regional tensions.

Analysing the video using forensic tool Atteestiv shows that the clip was flagged as “suspicious” with an 84 per cent deepfake probability score.

A reverse-image search conducted to trace the original footage yielded an X video uploaded on Nov 9, 2025, by Indian news outlet IANS with the following caption: “Chandigarh: Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan says, China’s coastal development is impressive, especially when viewed geographically, as it is bordered by countries like Russia, Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan. These geographic constraints limit its maritime ambitions. The articulation of the 9-dash or 11-dash line in the South China Sea and the militarisation of artificial islands are responses to this vulnerability…”

In the video, CDS Chauhan is addressing the 9th Military Literature Festival 2025 in Chandigarh.

A keyword search conducted to trace his complete speech yielded YouTube videos by Indian news agencies ANI News and Republic World on Nov 9, 2025.

In his speech, Chauhan can be seen speaking about the geopolitical location of India and its strategic depth. At no point did he comment on Indian domestic politics or make any reference to the politicisation of the army.

His speech was covered by multiple Indian media outlets such Times of India, The Economic Times, and The Week. None of the reports mentioned any criticism of the alleged politicisation of the Indian army.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral video showing Chief of Defence Staff Anil Chauhan criticising PM Modi for politicising the Indian Army is false.

The clip is doctored and has been dubbed over through AI-generated audio.