Did Ex-Indian Army Chief Gen VP Malik Praise Pakistan and Admit Loss Of Rafale Jets? No, Viral Video Is Doctored

A viral video circulating on social media claims to show the former Indian Army chief, General Ved Prakash Malik, praising Pakistan and allegedly admitting that the neighbouring country has superior weapons and equipment, purportedly citing the destruction of India’s Rafale jets and S-400 air defence system.

EVIDENCE

Newschecker did not find any credible news reports about such a statement by former Indian Army chief Gen. VP Malik. If he had indeed praised Pakistan or admitted the destruction of Rafale jets, it would have become a major talking point, attracting widespread attention and coverage both in India and internationally.

Original Video Shows No Such Remarks

We ran one of the keyframes from the viral video through Google Lens and found an X post by news agency ANI, dated December 14, 2025, featuring  Gen. VP Malik responding to a reporter’s question about Operation Sindoor and the Kargil War.

In the video, former Gen. Malik says, “As I said, human resources were used a lot during Operation Vijay. There was a physical fight. While during Operation Sindoor, we didn’t even cross each other’s border. Technological improvement is so immense. We now have standoff weapons; both nations have them now. So we can hit each other while being away from the border. So, there has been a great technological advancement which has been adopted by both countries…Pakistan also. But definitely, in India we have better weapons and equipment.”

After watching the original video, it is clearly evident that Gen. Malik did not praise Pakistan or claim that it has superiority over India in terms of weapons or equipment, as alleged in the viral claim. He, in fact, explicitly stated that India has better weapons and equipment. The claim that his remarks suggested the destruction of India’s Rafale jets or the S-400 air defence system is false and not supported by the video.

This clearly indicates that the portion of Gen. Malik’s statement in which he spoke about India’s advancements in weapons and equipment- stating that India has better weapons and equipment, has been edited out, and an audio praising Pakistan has been added through manipulation, confirming that the overlay is artificial.

Deepfake Detection Tools Confirm AI-Generated Audio

Newschecker analysed the viral clip using two independent deepfake detection tools, both of which confirmed that the audio had been manipulated. The Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector gave the voice an authenticity score of just 6 out of 100, indicating a very high likelihood of AI-generated manipulation.

Similarly, the DeepFake-O-Meter developed by the UB Media Forensics Lab at the University at Buffalo, marked the audio as fake, with two of its analytic outputs rating it 99.97 percent and 75.2 percent likely to be AI-generated.

PIB Declares The Video As Fake

On December 14, 2025, PIB Fact Check officially debunked the clip, stating that  former Indian Army chief Gen. Ved Prakash Malik (Retd) has made no such statement.

Also Read: Viral ‘Document’ Showing 163 IAF Pilots Resigned After 2025 India-Pakistan Conflict Is Doctored

Verdict

The viral video of former Indian Army chief Gen. Ved Prakash Malik is manipulated. He does not praise Pakistan or claim that it has superior weapons and equipment. In the original footage, Gen. Malik clearly states that India has better weapons and equipment, and the viral clip uses an artificial audio overlay to misrepresent his remarks.

FAQ

Did Gen. Ved Prakash Malik say Pakistan has better weapons than India?
No. In the original video, he clearly stated that India has better weapons and equipment.

Is the viral video real or edited?
The video visuals are real, but the audio has been artificially manipulated using AI-generated overlays.

Did Gen. Malik mention Rafale jets or the S-400 system being destroyed?
No. He made no such remarks in the original footage.

Sources
ANI X Post, December 14, 2025
PIB Fact Check X Post, December 14, 2025
Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector analysis
DeepFake-O-Meter (University at Buffalo) analysis