Fact Check: Rajnath Singh admits Pakistan shot down four Rafale jets during Operation Sindoor? No, video is AI-manipulated
A video has been circulating online, claiming that the Defence Minister acknowledged that India lost four Rafale jets during Operation Sindoor.
By - Md Mahfooz Alam
Claim:The video shows Defence Minister Rajnath Singh acknowledging that India lost four Rafale jets during Operation Sindoor.
Hyderabad: A video of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has been circulating on social media, claiming to show him acknowledging that India lost only four Rafale jets during Operation Sindoor due to the prudence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi; otherwise, Pakistan could have inflicted much greater damage on India.
Singh could be heard saying in the video, “We could have attacked the military establishment if we had wanted to, but we did not because when four of our Rafales were shot down this time, any such attack could have resulted in more than 20 of our cities being destroyed within 30 seconds. That is why we adopted a strategic approach, and later we can see how successful Modi ji’s decision proved to be - that although Pakistan struck us somewhat, we were not eliminated. We are still alive today and standing strong.”
An X user shared the video with the caption, “Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh praised Prime Minister Modi for acting sensibly and saving India from a larger and more destructive Pakistani attack by opting for a ceasefire with the help of Trump. He said that it was due to Modi’s prudence that only four Rafale jets were lost; otherwise, Pakistan could have inflicted much greater damage on India. He added that Modi saved 20 Indian cities, which Pakistan was capable of reducing to dust.” (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false, as the video had been manipulated using AI.
Discrepancies in the video
We identified that Singh’s voice in the clip does not match his natural voice.
Also, we observed unnatural lip movements, which suggest an attempt at forced synchronisation of the lips with the audio, indicating that the video may have been manipulated.
Source of the video
Using keywords, we searched for the latest programmes of the Defence Minister and found the extended version of the viral clip published by ANI on September 22.
However, we did not find Singh admitting that India lost four Rafale jets or making any of the statements allegedly contained in the viral clip.
In the original video, Singh, speaking to the Indian community in Morocco, discussed Operation Sindoor and India’s response to Pakistani terrorism.
He stated that after 26 Indians were killed in Pahalgam based on their religion, he immediately consulted with military leadership on April 23rd about readiness for operations. The military chiefs confirmed instant readiness, and PM Modi approved with full autonomy.
The operation targeted terrorist bases 100 km inside Pakistani territory, reportedly affecting top JeM terrorist leadership and Masood Azhar’s family. Singh indicated that Pakistan subsequently requested a ceasefire, which India accepted. He emphasised India’s preference for good neighbourly relations, citing Vajpayee’s principle that ‘friends can be changed but not neighbours,’ while warning that future operations depend on Pakistan’s conduct regarding terrorist activities. Singh concluded that Operation Sindoor is currently paused but could resume if necessary.
Tool result
We also analysed the video and its audio separately using the AI-detector Deepfake-O-meter.
The video analysis revealed detection scores of 96.1 per cent, 97.9 per cent, 99.9 per cent and 89.1 per cent, all indicating a strong probability of AI-generated content.
Similarly, the audio analysis produced detection scores of 99.8 per cent, 99.8 per cent, 99.9 per cent, and 100 per cent, consistently suggesting artificial manipulation.
Therefore, we conclude that the video has been manipulated using AI. Hence claim of the Defence Minister admitting that India lost four Rafale jets during Operation Sindoor is false.
