Arunachal Unrest, China Tensions: How Disinformation Crosses Borders

From AI-manipulated military videos to recycled footage passed off as breaking news, domestic and cross-border accounts are exploiting unrest in Arunachal Pradesh and India–China border tensions to spread disinformation and fuel misleading narratives.

Arunachal Pradesh has recently witnessed protests against the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, with demonstrations turning violent. At the same time, reports of face-offs between Indian and Chinese troops have renewed attention on the state’s disputed border. These developments have also become the subject of misleading claims circulated by social media accounts within and outside India.

This OBC analysis examines how domestic and cross-border accounts are leveraging the unrest and border tensions to spread misinformation, tracing viral claims to their sources and analysing how they are amplified across social media.

Cross-border disinformation campaigns

OBC closely analysed the accounts that engineered false narratives using deepfake technology in response to the recent internal disputes in Arunachal Pradesh and rising concerns near the state’s Indo-China border. We identified the X accounts @InsiderWB, @ThokaReturns and @IndiaGenzzz as actively propagating such claims. We noticed that even Indian accounts were using those posts without proper verification to question the Union government’s alleged shortcomings in ensuring border security and domestic peace.

Let’s examine these accounts and their disinformation patterns.

@InsiderWB

The X account @InsiderWB (The Whistle Blower) has been operational since September 2023. It previously used the username @PTI_Insider.

The posts from August through November 2025 included Pakistan-related content until the account started targeting India, specifically through deepfake videos, on 8 November 2025. All posts from its previous years of operation, from 2023 until July 2025, have been deleted, with some replies retained. The current posts include military-oriented stories and geopolitical narratives against Indian politicians and defence personnel. This indicates a sudden shift in the account’s content, with a focus on India’s political and security narratives.

However, while the account has been making claims against India, there is no proof of the user’s physical location.

The account follows a recurring pattern of publishing sensational claims about India’s military, political leadership and border security. Its content frequently uses authentic archival footage with fabricated audio or altered statements, presenting them as leaked revelations.

During the recent developments in Arunachal Pradesh, a manipulated video attributed fabricated remarks about Chinese control over Asaphila, Longju and Taksing to senior Army officer Girish Kalia. The original footage was taken from a 2023 briefing in Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir. The presentation of such claims as breaking revelations illustrates how familiar footage can be repurposed to lend credibility to fabricated allegations.

@ThokaReturns

The X account @ThokaReturns (Baba Thoka) joined the platform in December 2025. Its visible content spans Indian politics, military affairs, religion, communal issues and international relations. Recent posts include criticism of the BJP government’s political decisions, commentary on India’s relationship with Iran and China, and material highlighting incidents involving Indians abroad.

The account also uses sarcasm, provocative captions, and short video clips to frame political and social issues. Like  @InsiderWB, the account used deepfake videos to target Indian politicians and high-ranking defence personnel while promoting an anti-India narrative. The account’s posting history reveals a clear pro-Pakistan approach that demeans India’s diplomatic position. However, the account’s profile does not establish where it operates from.

The account relies heavily on provocative captions and video-based posts targeting India’s political leadership and military institutions. In recent posts, the account shared a manipulated video of Lt Gen Girish Kalia that appears to show him accepting China’s incursion into certain locations in Arunachal Pradesh. The video combines genuine footage from a 2023 military briefing with fabricated audio, presenting an invented statement as an insider admission.

The distinctive use of the watermark ‘Baba Thoka’ provides a traceable connection between the account’s branding and the circulating material. However, it does not confirm who created those visuals.

@IndiaGenzzz

The X account @IndiaGenzzz (India Genz) joined the platform in September 2026. Its timeline shows a high concentration of posts concerning Indian politics, communal tensions, military affairs and India’s foreign relations. Its posts frequently criticise the BJP and RSS, question the government’s handling of national security, and highlight allegations of discrimination against minorities.

Regarding Arunachal Pradesh, the account has shared claims about Chinese advances and alleged territorial losses, including a manipulated video attributing fabricated remarks to a senior Indian Army officer. The available content therefore suggests a strongly anti-BJP and critical-of-government orientation, with recurring emphasis on minority rights and military accountability.

The account has primarily focused on claims about Chinese advances, alleged military failures and the government’s handling of border security. Recently, the account was also seen sharing deepfake footage of Lt Gen Girish Kalia, which @ThokaReturns had previously shared.

The name ‘India Genz’ suggests that the account may target younger Indian audiences, though its intended audience cannot be determined from the name alone.

What does the network analysis of these accounts reveal?

An analysis of the three X accounts reveals substantial overlap in their coverage of Arunachal Pradesh, particularly in the claims they circulate about Chinese advances and the Indian military’s response. The clearest example is the near-identical wording used by @ThokaReturns and @IndiaGenzzz on 27 October 2026.

Both accounts published posts claiming that Indian soldiers were being humiliated in Arunachal Pradesh while the Army Chief was seen dancing in a nightclub. The posts appeared approximately 11 minutes apart, with similar captions.

A similar claim, using a fabricated AI-edited video, targeted the Chief of Army Staff, Gen Dhiraj Seth, in September 2026.

A similar pattern was observed on 26 October, when both accounts shared a video featuring Lt Gen Manoj Kumar discussing an earlier warning that Arunachal Pradesh could become a potential flashpoint.

We found that the video had been altered using AI.

The overlap extends to the manipulated video that falsely attributes remarks about Chinese control of Asaphila, Longju, and Taksing to Lieutenant General Girish Kalia. @InsiderWB published the video on 25 October, and @IndiaGenzzz subsequently circulated the same claim. The footage originated from a 2023 military briefing in Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir, and was digitally altered to insert fabricated remarks about Arunachal Pradesh.

The timing and similarity of these posts provide observable evidence of repeated content overlap, particularly between @ThokaReturns and @IndiaGenzzz. The shared video and specific territorial claims also connect the content circulated by @InsiderWB to the same narrative. X’s metadata lists Pakistan as the sign-up country for @ThokaReturns and @IndiaGenzzz. The account @InsiderWB lists London as its location.

Domestic misinformation

The Arunachal Pradesh incidents were not only exploited by cross-border disinformation. Prominent Indian accounts also shared old videos claiming to show the Indian Army’s recent face-off with the Chinese Army on the Indo-China border in Arunachal Pradesh.

On 26 October, @NeerajGoudBJP (Neeraj Goud Gollapelli), a core team member of BJP Telangana Social Media (according to the account’s X bio), shared a video with a Telugu caption that translates to, “🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🇮🇳 Attempted incursion by Chinese soldiers at the Arunachal Pradesh border.. Indian soldiers respond in kind! 🇮🇳👊 The Indian Army is always at the forefront in protecting the nation’s borders! Jai Hind! 🚩.”

As of 28 October, the post has garnered 6,00,400 views, 7,900 likes and 1,100 reposts.

Other social media accounts also shared the video with similar captions.

We noted that the footage shows two separate visuals.

Visual 1

We analysed the keyframe and found that the same video had also gone viral in 2024, indicating that the footage was not associated with any recent face-off between the Indian and Chinese armies in Arunachal Pradesh.

Visual 2

A close examination of the keyframes revealed that the same footage had gone viral in 2022, with claims it showed a border clash between India and China in Tawang. However, fact-checkers confirmed that the video predated 2022. We also geolocated the video to an elevated area near Chumi Gyatse waterfall in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh.

This establishes that the video is unrelated to the recent border tensions.

The recent developments in Arunachal Pradesh have provided both cross-border and domestic X accounts with an opportunity to push their own narratives. While the accounts examined in this investigation circulated manipulated military videos and claims about Chinese advances, domestic accounts recirculated old footage as evidence of recent border clashes. By exploiting public concerns over border security and political leadership, these accounts amplified misleading narratives around genuine developments in the state. The findings highlight how the same events can be repurposed by different accounts to serve their respective narratives, further blurring the line between verified developments and misinformation.