Indian Army Flags AI-Deepfake Video Falsely Attributing China Capture Claim to Lt Gen Girish Kalia

The Indian Army has rejected a manipulated video circulating on social media that falsely attributes inflammatory remarks to Lieutenant General Girish Kalia, the General Officer Commanding of Spear Corps (3 Corps), and alleges that China has taken control of parts of Arunachal Pradesh.

According to the Army, the digitally altered clip claims that Asaphila, Longjou — also referred to as Longju in some reports — and Taksing Circle in Arunachal Pradesh have come under Chinese control, and that Indian Army personnel deployed in the area have been denied essential supplies. The Army said the video is fabricated and uses artificial intelligence tools to create the appearance of a genuine statement by a senior officer.

The clarification was issued on 25 October 2026 by the Army’s official fact-checking account, Indian Army Fact Check (@MythbusterXX). In its post, the handle said the clip uses synthetic-generated information, including AI-generated lip-syncing and voice cloning, over archival footage to mislead viewers.

“A digitally altered video is being circulated with fabricated remarks attributed to Lt Gen Girish Kalia, claiming that China has taken control of Asaphila, Longjou and Taksing Circle in Arunachal Pradesh and that the Indian Army has been denied essential supplies. The misleading video attempts to portray fabricated statements as a leaked admission by a senior Indian Army officer. The video uses #SyntheticGeneratedInformation to falsely attribute remarks to Lt Gen Girish Kalia,” the Army said.

The Army traced the original footage used in the manipulated clip to a press briefing held on 27 October 2023 in Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir. At the time, Kalia was serving as a Major General and was the General Officer Commanding of the 28 Infantry Division.

During that briefing, he had spoken about counter-terrorism operations and infiltration attempts across the Line of Control. He said security forces had foiled 10 infiltration attempts, eliminated 27 terrorists, and recovered a large quantity of warlike stores, ammunition and narcotics. The original video contained no reference to China, territorial changes in Arunachal Pradesh, or restrictions on supplies to Indian troops.

The Army described the altered clip as an attempt to spread military disinformation and trigger unnecessary alarm. It also set out the pattern behind the manipulation as: “Old military briefing + Digitally manipulated remarks + False attribution + Fabricated territorial claims = Misleading military disinformation.”

The Army urged citizens to stay alert against such content, verify claims through authentic sources before sharing unverified videos, and be cautious of AI-generated or digitally altered material. It said preventing the spread of misinformation related to national security and military operations remains important.

Lt Gen Girish Kalia (AVSM, VSM) is currently the GOC of Spear Corps, headquartered near Dimapur, and his area of operational responsibility includes parts of Arunachal Pradesh. The clarification comes amid other recent Army fact-checks dealing with claims circulating about the region. The report draws on inputs from the Army’s fact-check team and ANI.

The Army said it remains committed to transparency and advised the public to rely on original sources and official channels for information on military matters.