NEW DELHI — Authorities have taken down scores of social media links containing a digitally manipulated, AI-generated deepfake video of Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, government sources confirmed on Saturday. The swift action follows the minister filing a formal police complaint regarding the doctored clip, which falsely depicted him issuing threats against students protesting over competitive exam irregularities.
The controversy erupted after a video surfaced online purporting to show Goyal addressing reporters outside Parliament. In the manipulated footage, his voice and expressions were digitally altered to make it appear as though he was targeting students taking part in ongoing nationwide demonstrations over alleged paper leaks.
FIR Registered at Chanakyapuri Police Station
Addressing the issue in an early morning post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, Goyal strongly condemned the malicious misuse of artificial intelligence to mislead the public, emphasizing that such deceptive tactics would not be tolerated.
"My remarks to the media outside Parliament have been maliciously doctored using AI to create and circulate a deepfake video in an attempt to spread misinformation," Goyal stated.
The minister revealed that an FIR (No. 123/26) was officially registered at 4:35 AM on July 25, 2026, at the Chanakyapuri Police Station in New Delhi. He pledged that strict legal action would be pursued against every individual involved in creating, distributing, or intentionally amplifying the fraudulent video.
Goyal also urged citizens to rely strictly on verified and authentic sources for information, adding: "I have complete faith that India's aware and tech-savvy citizens, especially our youth, will not fall prey to such misinformation."
Fact-Check Unit Flags Propaganda Accounts
The crackdown comes on the heels of an alert issued by the Press Information Bureau's (PIB) Fact Check unit on Friday evening. The government's fact-checking body warned that social media handles, including propaganda accounts operated from Pakistan, were actively circulating the AI-manipulated footage to stoke public anger amid ongoing youth protests at Jantar Mantar and across the country.
With social media feeds currently flooded with content surrounding student demonstrations and exam reform demands, law enforcement agencies and cyber monitoring bodies have reiterated warnings urging users not to re-share unverified videos without cross-checking authentic sources.
