AI-altered video featuring Colonel Sofia Qureshi circulated online. Here is the fact-check

Several social media users on X (formerly Twitter) recently shared a video that allegedly shows Col Sofia Qureshi stating that the Indian Army’s “Trishul” exercise is a ploy to influence the upcoming Bihar elections. However, the video is doctored using AI.

Claim:

X users recently shared a 42-second video on November 3, 2025, allegedly showing Colonel Sofia Qureshi claiming that the Indian Army is being saffronised and that the Tri-Services Exercise (TSE-2025) “Trishul” is merely a ploy by the ruling NDA to gain an advantage in the upcoming Bihar elections

Other users on X and Facebook also shared the video.

Here are the facts:

We performed a reverse image search and found an ANI video on YouTube, dated October 31, 2025, featuring the same keyframe as the viral clip. The video description reads: “Colonel Sofia Qureshi conveyed her message to young leaders of the Indian Army as she addressed the Chanakya Defence Dialogue on the theme ‘Veer Yuva: Empowering Youth for India’s National Security.’”

Screenshot of the ANI News YouTube video from October 31, 2025​

The remarks seen in the viral video were absent from the longer YouTube video, and it was observed that the viral clip is both edited and digitally modified from the original YouTube content.

Furthermore, we analysed both videos and found discrepancies in the audio of the viral video.

Subsequently, we used AI detection tools and found the following:

1)DeepFake-O-Meter by the University at Buffalo’s Media Forensics Lab 

The result shows that the probability of the viral video being fake is 99.9%

2)Hive Moderation

The result shows that the viral video is 99% AI-generated.

The analysis of the viral video indicates that the social media users propagated an AI-altered video of Colonel Sofia Qureshi.