Here’s The Truth Behind News18 Report On Alleged ‘More Hindus Attracted To ISIS’ Remark By Ajit Doval

A recent CNN-News18 video report stated that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval had issued a “strong and unequivocal denial” after a video falsely portrayed him as claiming that “more Hindus are attracted to ISIS than Muslims.”  

“Speaking to CNN-News18, Doval clarified that he has never made such a statement and warned that the clip appears to be a case of deepfake manipulation, designed to distort India’s national-security discourse,” it added. 

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Fact Check/Verification

A watermark reading “Australia India Institute” is visible on the bottom-right corner of the viral video. This provided a key clue. Searching the YouTube channel of the Australia India Institute, we found a video uploaded on March 20, 2014, titled “Ajit Doval: The Challenge of Global Terrorism.”  In the video, Doval appears in the same outfit and setting as seen in the viral clip.

Notably, Doval was appointed as the National Security Advisor of India in May 2014. The video predates the same.

While reviewing the full video, around the one-hour mark, Doval says:

“Now I’ll take the first question about the Indian response to the terrorism threat within the country. I think we have to take a series of steps…make it very clear that there is no question of sparing anyone, appeasing anyone…law will take its course but carry the minority community with us…You should talk to the Ullemas, you should convince them, work out a joint strategy, make them partners in that, press into action and action plan and it will be a joint plan. It is to protect them…”

At 1:04:02, he adds:

“…let me tell you one small thing…the number of persons that ISI has recruited for intelligence tasks in India…there has been more Hindus than Muslims…”

This is the exact quote heard in the viral clip.

Notably, while CNN-News18 used the viral footage, their report erroneously reported the quote as referring to ISIS, not ISI, which appears to have contributed to confusion around the clip’s context.

Deepfake Or Not?

We tested the viral clip using multiple AI/deepfake detection tools:

• Hive Moderation assessed the media as “not likely” to contain deepfake content.
• Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector found the audio to be authentic.
• Resemble.ai also determined the voice to be real.

Also Read: Free Motorbikes For Every Home? Deepfakes Of PM Modi Are Spinning A Costly Scam

Verdict

The confusion stems from News18’s erroneous report that described the clip of NSA Ajit Doval as a “deepfake.” In reality, the footage is genuine and from a 2014 lecture, showing Doval saying ISI has recruited more Hindus for intelligence tasks, not “more Hindus are attracted to ISIS than Muslims.”

FAQs

Q1. Where is the original video from?
The clip comes from a March 20, 2014 video uploaded by the Australia India Institute.

Q2. Did Ajit Doval actually say the line about ISI recruiting more Hindus than Muslims?
Yes. The quote appears at around 1:04:02 in the 2014 event video.

Q3. Why did the video go viral now?
Old clips often resurface during politically sensitive moments, and concerns about deepfakes made the video seem suspicious to many users.

Sources
YouTube Video By Australia India Institute, Dated March 20, 2014
Hive Moderation Website
Resemble.ai Website
Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector