Viral video of Indian Army chief admitting to losing 4 Rafale jets during May 2025 conflict

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted an audio forensic analysis to assess the authenticity of the video and performed a reverse image search to identify the original source.

Posts from multiple pro-Pakistani accounts on social media platform X since September 18, 2025, shared a video, claiming that it allegedly showed the Indian Army chief admitting to the loss of four Rafale Jets during the May 2025 standoff between India and Pakistan. However, the video is doctored and does not show the Indian Army chief.

Pakistan and India fought in a four-day conflict earlier in May 2025. Indian fighter jets were shot down by the Pakistan Air Force on the night of May 6-7 in response to the Indian Air Force’s late-night missile strikes at six Pakistani sites, including Subhan Mosque in Bahawalpur’s Ahmedpur East, Bilal Mosque in Muzaffarabad, Abbas Mosque in Kotli, Umalkura Mosque in Muridke, the village of Kotki Lohara in Sialkot district, and Shakargarh.

Pakistan took down six Indian jets, including three advanced French Rafale planes. According to a Dawn report, three Rafales, one Su-30MKI, one Mirage 2000 and one MiG-29 were downed within a 40-minute span. Not one Pakistani jet crossed the border or engaged in close combat.

HOW IT STARTED

On Sept 18, an X account, that appears to be anti-Indian based upon its previous posts, shared a video with the following caption: “Indian Army chief once again admits of losing four Rafale Jets due to miscalculating Pakistan military’s capability. Underestimating Pakistan was the biggest mistake of Indian politicians.”

The transcription of the video is provided below:

“On the 7th, we attacked nine terrorist targets between 1am and 1:30am. You know, there were operations in Balakot before this. We kept saying that we have killed them, they are successful, but there was no evidence, satellite imagery or photographs.

But now, what we were doing, why did we do it at 1:30 am? We thought that the Pakistani air force must be sleeping, and no one would know what we have attacked in Pakistan. But they all came to know. Our four Rafales fell, but we have learned a lot.

Now, we will remain alert even at night, that Pakistan is watching us all the time. The biggest thing is that this is learning.”

The post gained 59,600 views.

The same post was also reshared by multiple users on X, as can be seen here, here, here, here, and here.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the military conflict between India and Pakistan.

Observing the video showed inconsistencies, such as the words not matching the lip-syncing, the tone of the speaker and the background noise after the 28-second mark.

The audio of the video was tested on forensic tool DeepFake-Total, which detected potential manipulation from the 27.5-second mark.

A keyword and reverse image search showed that the individual in the video was not Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi, the chief of army staff, but Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan, the highest-ranking individual in the Indian Army.

A reverse image search also yielded the original video of CDS Chauhan interacting with schoolchildren at Raj Bhavan in Ranchi on Sept 18, as posted by Indian news agency ANI News on X.

The transcription of the video’s first minute, corresponding with the viral video, is provided below:

“The first thing is, you must have read everything else, there has been a lot of discussion in the newspapers. On the 7th, we attacked the nine terrorist targets between 1am and 1:30 am. You know, there were operations in Balakot before this.

We kept saying that the operations in Balakot were successful, but there was no evidence or satellite imagery or photographs. But now, what we were doing, why did we do it at 1:30 am? That is the darkest and most difficult. Taking satellite imagery, photographing it, collecting evidence.

Still, we did it at 1 or 1:30 am. Why was that? There were two reasons. First, we had confidence in our capabilities. That if we do it at night, we can take satellite imagery at night as well. And the second important thing was that we wanted to avoid civilian casualties.”

As can be seen in the transcription, he does not mention the downing of four Rafale jets by Pakistan, nor does he say any of the secondary claims made.

The doctored part begins at the 6-second mark of the viral clip and features a voiceover starting precisely at the 34th second until the 54th second of the original speech.

Alongside ANI, many other mainstream Indian media outlets reported the interaction of CDS Chauhan, but none mentioned any of the statements in the video circulating online, as can be seen in reports by The Times of India, The Hindu and India Today.

Pakistani news outlets also did not report the statements, which they would otherwise be expected to as happened when CDS Chauhan first admitted on May 31 to the downing of Indian jets without specifying the number.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral video shows the Indian Army chief admitting to losing four Rafale Jets during the May 2025 conflict is false.

The video is doctored and does not show the Indian Army chief but Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan.

Evidence and References

June 11, 2024, Indian Press Information Bureau Press Release:
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2024481

May 25, 2025, Indian defence ministry Facebook post:
https://www.facebook.com/DefenceMinIndia/posts/pfbid02Q1drV7KGtx8MStQLou3GqjRn1pjB14BmS2bkebYprBhcTKyDR1N2ihcZ2Hd46RiMl

Sept 19, 2025, ANI X post:
https://x.com/ANI/status/1968668642058596555?t=60

Sep 18, 2025, Times of India news report:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/best-time-would-have-been-6-am-why-india-carried-out-operation-sindoor-at-midnight-cds-general-anil-chauhan-reveals/articleshow/123978384.cms

Sep 19, 2025, India Today news report:
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/operation-sindoor-chief-of-defence-staff-general-anil-chauhan-reveals-timing-prevent-civilian-casualties-2789775-2025-09-19

Sep 19, 2025, The Hindu news report:
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/jharkhand/operation-sindoor-heralded-new-kind-of-warfare-cds-anil-chauhan/article70068588.ece

May 31, 2025, Dawn news report:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1914500