Fact Check: Jagan calling Hindi as national language is not deepfake; Know the facts here
A video of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy saying ‘Hindi is a national Language’ is circulating with the claim that it is a deepfake and the former AP CM did not make the statement.
By M Ramesh Naik
Claim:The video showing YS Jagan Mohan Reddy saying ‘Hindi is a national language’ is a deepfake.
Fact:The claim is false. The video is not a deepfake. It is a genuine press interaction where YS Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed his views on the ongoing language debate.
Hyderabad: A video of YSR Congress Party chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy speaking to the media has triggered debate online.
In the clip, Reddy is seen allegedly saying, “What is there to pitch? Obviously, it is a national language,” referring to a reporter’s question, “Would you pitch Hindi to (as) the national language?” Some social media users allege that this video is a deepfake, claiming the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister never made such a statement.
One user posted the clip with the caption, “NDA Govt using AI on YSJagan. This is the second time they are doing this. If you don’t act now, it will get worse.” (Archive)
Similar posts can be seen here and here. (Archived 1, Archive 2)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The video is not a deepfake but a genuine clip of YS Jagan MohanReddy addressing reporters in Tadepalli.
Clues from the video, such as the RTV News logo, led us to the original full-length video posted on RTV’s official X handle on July 16.
The full 2-minute-14-second video shows Jagan discussing language policy in response to a reporter’s question.
He said English should remain the medium of instruction for global competitiveness, and Hindi can be learned as one of the languages. He emphasised that mother tongue must be prioritised. In the longer version, Jagan explained his views on the language debate, advocating for English as the medium of instruction while emphasising the importance of regional languages and Hindi as an additional language.
Here is the full transcription of his statement:
“So, basically, the change that should be brought about is not Hindi. Hindi can also be a language which can be learned. But the medium of education should be English. This is the biggest change that should be brought throughout the country. If this country were to move forward and leap forward… see today, English is the global language. Until and unless the poor studying in these government schools learn to speak fluent English, they can never be competitive. So, the medium of language should be English. Yes. Once the medium is established as English, you can have language one, language two, language three, depending on the choice of children, whatever they want to learn.As long as the mother tongue in those particular States, being a compulsory subject, is a language, that’s language one. Maybe language two, if there is an option, one always speaks Hindi. There’s nothing wrong.
In fact, my first language was Hindi, even though my school was an English-medium school. First language: Hindi. In our school. Second language: Telugu. That’s a different issue.”
Towards the end, when asked if he would endorse Hindi as a national language, he replied, “What is there topitch? Obviously, it is a national language.”
The viral 6-second clip was trimmed from this original video. The clip showed no signs of AI manipulation either, such as mismatched audio, unnatural lip sync or inconsistent facial expressions.
NewsMeter also found a video report by India Today published on July 17, titled ‘Jagan Mohan Reddy On Hindi: “What Is There To Pitch? It Is A National Language”.’
The report reiterated the same byte seen in the viral video, confirming it is part of Jagan’s actual statement to the media.
The video description stated, “A consensus is emerging among political leaders in Andhra Pradesh regarding the Hindi language. Following CM Chandrababu Naidu and deputy CM Pawan Kalyan, former CM Jaganmohan Reddy also weighed in. When asked if he would pitch for Hindi as the national language, he stated, ‘What is there to pitch? Obviously, it is a national language.’”
The Times of India also published a report on the same day, “Don’t debate Hindi, focus on English for future: Jagan Mohan Reddy,” confirming the remarks were made during a media briefing, not through AI manipulation.
We also ran the clip through the AI detection tool Hive moderation, which gave the result as 0 per cent AI content.
The viral clip of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy calling Hindi a national language is a genuine excerpt from a longer press interaction.
There is no evidence of the video being a deepfake or any kind of tampering done on the original. Therefore,the claim suggesting the use of AI to fake his speech is false.
