Claim:A video shows the army chief expressing condolences after the death of Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk in Jodhpur Central Jail.
fact:That claim is false. The video is processed using AI. There are no reports of Sonam Wangchuck dying in state custody.
HYDERABAD: A video is going viral on social media claiming that Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi has released a formal message of condolence following the “death in custody” of Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk in Jodhpur Central Jail.
In a video that went viral, General Dwivedi appears to say, “I express my deep regret over the death of Sonam Wangchuck in state custody. I urge the central government to launch a thorough and transparent investigation.”
An X user shared a video with the caption, “Indian Army Commander General Upendra Dwivedi has expressed condolences after Sonam Wangchuk’s death in custody, but is now being suppressed by the media.” (archive)
fact check
NewsMeter found this claim to be false. The video has been modified using AI.
Video source
I found the WION logo at the bottom left of the video. A Google reverse image search for keyframes found the original footage uploaded by WION on November 27th.
The video is titled ‘Operation Sindur: Indian Army Chief Upendra Dwivedi reveals how India outsmarted Pakistan’. In ‘Original’, General Dwivedi is seen speaking at the Chanakya Defense Dialogue.
A video news report description states that the army chief was discussing the results of Operation Sindur and the impact of military reforms. Nowhere in his speech did he mention Sonam Wangchuck, deaths in custody or calls for a government investigation.
In his address, General Dwivedi spoke about the changing global security landscape, the Prime Minister’s 5S vision and the need for the Indian Armed Forces to remain strategically prepared. His remarks focused exclusively on defense reform and geopolitical challenges.
None of the lines heard in the viral clip appear in the original video. This confirmed that the video had been tampered with.
Video analysis
To further verify authenticity, NewsMeter analyzed the viral clip using Deepfake-O-Meter, an AI detection tool. The company’s four detectors flagged videos as containing AI-generated content with confidence scores of 99.9%, 95.2%, 97.7%, and 96.3%.
This clearly indicates that the audio in the viral video was artificially generated and superimposed on footage of the actual speech.
PIB Factcheck also flagged the same video as AI-manipulated on November 27, warning users to be careful and not to share or engage with unverified content. Rely only on official and trusted sources for accurate information.
There are no reports, official statements, or reliable sources confirming Sonam Wangchuck’s death in custody.
A video circulating on social media does not show Army Chief of Staff Upendra Dwivedi condoling Sonam Wangchuck’s “death in custody”. This clip uses AI-generated audio overlaid with actual footage of a defense event.
Therefore, NewsMeter concludes that this claim is false.
