Clip of Pakistan general saying country 'lost jets' is doctored
The accompanying video appears to show Chaudry at a podium saying: "I regret to confirm that two J-F 17's aircraft were lost during active duty. This loss isn't just numbers for us, it represents a blow to our morale."
Similar posts sharing the video also surfaced elsewhere on Facebook and on TikTok in the days after India said it launched strikes against "terrorist camps" in Pakistan in retaliation for a deadly attack on tourists in the Indian-run side of disputed Kashmir, which New Delhi blamed on Islamabad (archived link). Pakistan denies the accusation.
The nuclear-armed rivals traded fire for four days before US President Donald Trump announced a truce on May 10. The flare-up in violence was the worst since the rivals' last open conflict in 1999 and sparked global shudders that it could spiral into full-blown war.
Pakistan has not said it lost military aircraft as of May 20.
Its military claims to have shot down five Indian fighter jets, including three advanced French Rafale aircraft, all of which were in Indian airspace at the time. India has not disclosed any losses.
Reverse image and keyword searches found the manipulated video -- where the spokesperson's lips can be seen glitching -- matches footage from a press conference in December 27, 2024 published by the Pakistan military's public relations wing ISPR (archived link).
"Security and anti-terrorism forces have conducted 59,775 intelligence-based operations of different categories," Chaudhry says in the presser. "During these successful operations 925 terrorists were killed."
An analysis of the audio in the circulating clip using the voice cloning detection tool Hiya tool in the Verification Plugin, also known as InVID-WeVerify, found it is "very likely AI-generated" (archived link).
AFP has debunked misinformation surrounding the India-Pakistan conflict here.
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