Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday filed a police complaint after a deepfake video purportedly showing him making inflammatory remarks against the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) went viral on social media.
In a post on X, he said the video was fake and had been manipulated using artificial intelligence (AI). In the said video, Goyal can be heard “threatening” protesting students. Many social media links related to the video had been taken down, government sources said.
An investigation by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check also found that it was a fabricated video. It said the viral clip was doctored and was being circulated by Pakistan-backed propaganda social media accounts with the alleged intent of misleading people and inciting unrest amid the ongoing student protests in Delhi. The agency also urged the public not to trust or share the fabricated video without verification.
Reacting to the controversy, the minister said his original remarks to the media outside Parliament had been “maliciously doctored” using AI to create and circulate the deepfake video. He said the manipulated clip was an attempt to spread misinformation. He also said he had filed an official complaint with the Delhi Police.
“I have filed a police complaint. An FIR (No. 123/26) has been registered at Chanakyapuri police station at 4.35 am on July 25, 2026. Strict legal action will be taken against everyone involved in creating, circulating or amplifying this fake video,” he said in a post on X.
“The irresponsible misuse of artificial intelligence to mislead the public cannot and will not be tolerated. I urge everyone to rely only on verified and authentic sources for information. I have complete faith that India’s aware and tech-savvy citizens, especially our youth, will not fall prey to such misinformation,” he added.
Goyal also appealed to citizens to rely only on verified and authentic sources for information and expressed confidence that India’s tech-savvy citizens, particularly the youth, would not fall for such misinformation.
The PIB Fact Check clarified that, in his actual interaction with the media, the Union Minister spoke about the Centre’s action against those involved in paper leak cases, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi had already directed strict legal action and that fast-track courts would be set up to ensure speedy punishment for the accused.