Deepfake Of Girish Kalia Shows Him Admitting Chinese Incursion In Arunachal

A deepfake of Indian Army officer Girish Kalia is being shared on social media with the claim that he admitted China had taken control of parts of Arunachal Pradesh and that Indian forces were being directed against Gen Z protesters instead of confronting China.

BOOM found that the viral video uses footage from October 2023, when Kalia was speaking about infiltration attempts along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. An AI voice-detection tool also flagged the viral audio as likely a deepfake.

Protests against NHPC’s Siang Upper Multipurpose Project in Arunachal Pradesh’s East Siang district turned violent on October 23, 2026, leading to incidents of arson and the deployment of security in Pasighat and the imposition of restrictions on public gatherings. According to a report by The Indian Express on October 25, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Director General Shatrujeet Kapur confirmed recent face-offs between Indian and Chinese troops at multiple locations in the state. Responding to the reports, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said such tensions typically arise when Chinese troops deviate from established patrolling patterns along the border.

The Claim:

The viral video is being shared on social media with the claim that Lt Gen Girish Kalia, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Spear Corps, admitted that China had taken control of Asaphila, Longju and Taksing Circle in Arunachal Pradesh.

Shameful! Lt Gen Girish Kalia (GOC, Spear Corps) says China has taken control of Asaphila, Longju and Taksing Circle in Arunachal Pradesh. Despite requests for supplies, forces are reportedly being directed against Gen Z instead of China. Where is the accountability? https://t.co/9mMAri2cEZ

— India Genz (@IndiaGenzzz) October 25, 2026

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The video has a watermark, 'Baba Thoka', an X handle BOOM has previously fact-checked for spreading misinformation and AI-generated deepfake videos targeting Indian Army officials.

What We Found:

1) Original Video

We found that the original video dates back to October 27, 2023. A reverse image search using keyframes from the viral video led us to a post shared by news agency ANI on X on October 27, 2023.

The original video shows Major General Girish Kalia, then General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 28 Infantry Division, addressing the media in Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir.

#WATCH | Kupwara, J&K: GoC 28 Infantry Division Major General Girish Kalia says, "There has been a constant endeavour from across the Line of Control to disturb the peace and vitiate the security environment in Jammu and Kashmir. You all have been witness to the continuous attempts of infiltration being made from across the Line of Control. In the last 8 months, we've had 10 such attempts in our divisional area of responsibility which have resulted in the elimination of 27 terrorists and recovery of large quantity of warlike stores. In addition, we've also recovered a huge quantity of narcotics which establishes a deep nexus between the defence establishments in Pakistan and the terrorist groups...Yesterday's operation in a way is a befitting tribute to our infantrymen who have worked tirelessly for the last many decades to ensure that peace continues to prevail in the valley. The security forces are working in complete synergy today. We are committed to defeat any attempt of the enemy to disrupt the security situation in Kashmir Valley with firm resoluteness and steadfast commitment..."

— ANI (@ANI) October 27, 2023

2) AI Detection Tool Result

We also analysed the audio from the video using the Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector. The tool returned an authenticity score of 18 out of 100, indicating that the sampled audio was likely a deepfake.