#FactCheck-AI-Generated Video Falsely Shared as Scenes of Flood Devastation in Nepal
Executive Summary
Nepal witnessed severe devastation after floods struck the country on August 26, 2026. Amid this, a video showing a bridge being swept away by floodwaters is being widely shared on social media. Some users are sharing the video claiming that it shows scenes of destruction caused by the floods in Nepal.A research done by the Research Wing of the CyberPeace found that the video being shared with the claim of flood devastation in Nepal is AI-generated. However, it is true that the floods in Nepal have claimed hundreds of lives.
Claim
A user on X shared the video with the caption: “Scenes of devastation in Nepal after the disaster.”
https://www.instagram.com/reels/Dch-EmYNUwz/
https://perma.cc/5VY5-ZFCN?type=standard
Fact Check
We closely examined the video showing the bridge being swept away. A person can be seen standing on top of a truck, which appears unnatural in such a situation. Moreover, even as the bridge collapses, the people on it do not appear to fall directly into the water. These observations led us to suspect that the video was likely AI-generated.
We scanned the viral video using the AI detection tool ‘WasItAI’, which identified it as 99 percent AI-generated.
Meanwhile, another AI detection tool, Sightengine, also identified the video as 99 percent AI-generated.
Conclusion:
A video being shared with the claim that it shows devastation caused by floods in Nepal is actually from the shooting of an Indonesian TV serial, while another viral video is AI-generated.
Related Blogs
Executive Summary
A video clip of Indian Army Chief Upendra Dwivedi is being widely shared across social media platforms with the claim that he criticised the Indian government's policy towards Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. In the viral clip, the Army Chief is allegedly heard saying that India is doing nothing except sending money to the Taliban government due to the Centre’s failed policies.
However, CyberPeace Research Wing research found the claim to be false. The viral video is a deepfake. In the original footage, General Upendra Dwivedi was speaking about Operation Sindoor and the preparedness of the Indian Armed Forces for a possible “Operation Sindoor 2.0.” He made no remarks regarding the Taliban or the government’s Afghanistan policy.
Claim
An X user named “XaQil” shared the viral video on May 31, 2026, with the caption:“Due to failed policies of the Central Government, India is doing nothing except sending Money to Taliban government. How can money alone do everything?” — Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi.
Fact Check
In the viral video, General Dwivedi is purportedly heard making remarks about India’s Afghanistan policy, the Taliban, Pakistan, Iran, and India’s diplomatic position. To verify the claim, we searched for the original source of the video. A reverse image search of key frames led us to the authentic footage posted by news agency ANI on its official X account on May 30, 2026.
In the original video, General Dwivedi was responding to a question about Operation Sindoor. He stated that the operation was still ongoing, hostilities had only paused temporarily, and that the Indian Armed Forces were fully prepared if “Operation Sindoor 2.0” became necessary.
He also spoke about enhancing coordination among the three services and maintaining operational readiness.”
No part of his statement mentioned the Taliban, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, or criticism of the Central Government.
Further corroboration came from media reports covering the same event. According to a report published by Navbharat Times on May 30, 2026, General Dwivedi made the remarks during the passing-out parade of the 150th course of the National Defence Academy (NDA), where he attended as the chief guest. He reiterated that the armed forces were fully prepared for “Operation Sindoor 2.0” if required.
Since the content of the viral clip did not match the original statement, we examined it using InVID’s MeVer Deepfake Detector. The tool flagged signs of AI manipulation and indicated that the video had likely been altered.
Conclusion
Cyber Peace Foundation found that the viral video purportedly showing Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi criticising the Indian government’s policy towards the Taliban is a deepfake. The Army Chief made no such remarks. The original video was recorded during an NDA event, where he spoke about Operation Sindoor and the preparedness of the Indian Armed Forces for a possible future operation. The viral clip has been manipulated using AI to spread a false narrative.
Executive Summary
A video featuring India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is being widely circulated on social media with the claim that he urged US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US President Donald Trump to hand over the “handlers” of the so-called “Cockroach Janata Party” to India. The viral post further alleges that Jaishankar described the organisation as a “Pakistani and Iranian proxy group.” CyberPeace Research Wing research found the viral claim to be fake. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar did not make any statement regarding the “Cockroach Party” or its alleged handlers during the press conference. The viral video has been edited and is being shared with a misleading claim.
Claim
A verified X (formerly Twitter) user shared the viral clip and claimed that during a joint press conference, Jaishankar said:“I request Marco Rubio and Trump to hand over the handlers of the Cockroach Party because they are Pakistani and Iranian proxy groups.”
Fact Check
To verify the claim, we converted the viral clip into key frames and conducted a reverse image search. During the research, we found the original video uploaded on May 24, 2026, on the official YouTube channel of the Ministry of External Affairs.
The video was captioned:“Press conference of EAM Dr S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.”
A review of the full press conference confirmed that Jaishankar made no mention of any “Cockroach Party,” its alleged handlers, or any Pakistani or Iranian proxy network. Further verification of the official transcripts published by both the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and the United States Department of State also found no references to the terms “Cockroach Party,” “handlers,” “Pakistani proxy,” or any statements matching the viral claim.
https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/05/secretary-of-state-marco-rubio-and-indian-external-affairs-minister-dr-subrahmanyam-jaishankar-at-a-joint-press-availability
In the final stage of verification, the viral clip was analysed using an AI detection tool. The analysis suggested that the audio had been manipulated and that the video appeared to be edited. The tool indicated a 63 percent probability that the clip had been altered using AI-based editing techniques.
Conclusion
The research confirms that the viral claim is fake. S. Jaishankar did not make any statement regarding the “Cockroach Party” or its alleged handlers during the press conference. The viral clip has been edited and is being shared with misleading claims.
Introduction
Meta is the leader in social media platforms and has been successful in having a widespread network of users and services across global cyberspace. The corporate house has been responsible for revolutionizing messaging and connectivity since 2004. The platform has brought people closer together in terms of connectivity, however, being one of the most popular platforms is an issue as well. Popular platforms are mostly used by cyber criminals to gain unauthorised data or create chatrooms to maintain anonymity and prevent tracking. These bad actors often operate under fake names or accounts so that they are not caught. The platforms like Facebook and Instagram have been often in the headlines as portals where cybercriminals were operating and committing crimes.
To keep the data of the netizen safe and secure Paytm under first of its kind service is offering customers protection against cyber fraud through an insurance policy available for fraudulent mobile transactions up to Rs 10,000 for a premium of Rs 30. The cover ‘Paytm Payment Protect’ is provided through a group insurance policy issued by HDFC Ergo. The company said that the plan is being offered to increase the trust in digital payments, which will push up adoption.
Meta’s Cybersecurity
Meta has one of the best cyber security in the world but that diest mean that it cannot be breached. The social media giant is the most vulnerable platform in cases of data breaches as various third parties are also involved. As seen the in the case of Cambridge Analytica, a huge chunk of user data was available to influence the users in terms of elections. Meta needs to be ahead of the curve to have a safe and secure platform, for this Meta has deployed various AI and ML driven crawlers and software which work o keeping the platform safe for its users and simultaneously figure out which accounts may be used by bad actors and further removes the criminal accounts. The same is also supported by the keen participation of the user in terms of the reporting mechanism. Meta-Cyber provides visibility of all OT activities, observes continuously the PLC and SCADA for changes and configuration, and checks the authorization and its levels. Meta is also running various penetration and bug bounty programs to reduce vulnerabilities in their systems and applications, these testers are paid heavily depending upon the scope of the vulnerability they found.
CyberRoot Risk Investigation
Social media giant Meta has taken down over 40 accounts operated by an Indian firm CyberRoot Risk Analysis, allegedly involved in hack-for-hire services along with this Meta has taken down 900 fraudulently run accounts, these accounts are said to be operated from China by an unknown entity. CyberRoot Risk Analysis was responsible for sharing malware over the platform and used it to impersonate themselves just as their targets, i.e lawyers, doctors, entrepreneurs, and industries like – cosmetic surgery, real estate, investment firms, pharmaceutical, private equity firms, and environmental and anti-corruption activists. They would get in touch with such personalities and then share malware hidden in files which would often lead to data breaches subsequently leading to different types of cybercrimes.
Meta and its team is working tirelessly to eradicate the influence of such bad actors from their platforms, use of AI and Ml based tools have increased exponentially.
Paytm CyberFraud Cover
Paytm is offering customers protection against cyber fraud through an insurance policy available for fraudulent mobile transactions up to Rs 10,000 for a premium of Rs 30. The cover ‘Paytm Payment Protect’ is provided through a group insurance policy issued by HDFC Ergo. The company said that the plan is being offered to increase the trust in digital payments, which will push up adoption. The insurance cover protects transactions made through UPI across all apps and wallets. The insurance coverage has been obtained by One97 Communications, which operates under the Paytm brand.
The exponential increase in the use of digital payments during the pandemic has made more people susceptible to cyber fraud. While UPI has all the digital safeguards in place, most UPI-related frauds are undertaken by confidence tricksters who get their victims to authorise a transaction by passing collect requests as payments. There are also many fraudsters collecting payments by pretending to be merchants. These types of frauds have resulted in a loss of more than Rs 63 crores in the previous financial year. The issue of data insurance is new to India but is indeed the need of the hour, majority of netizens are unaware of the value of their data and hence remain ignorant towards data protection, such steps will result in safer data management and protection mechanisms, thus safeguarding the Indian cyberspace.
Conclusion
cyberspace is at a critical juncture in terms of data protection and privacy, with new legislation coming out on the same we can expect new and stronger policies to prevent cybercrimes and cyber-attacks. The efforts by tech giants like Meta need to gain more speed in terms of the efficiency of cyber safety of the platform and the user to make sure that the future of the platforms remains secured strongly. The concept of data insurance needs to be shared with netizens to increase awareness about the subject. The initiative by Paytm will be a monumental initiative as this will encourage more platforms and banks to commit towards coverage for cyber crimes. With the increasing cases of cybercrimes, such financial coverage has come as a light of hope and security for the netizens.
