Fact Check: Video of actor Pankaj Tripathi urging people not to vote for BJP is digitally altered

AAP had shared the altered video on its official X account, and though it was deleted shortly after, it garnered over 65,000 views, 1,000 likes & more than 400 reposts.

New Delhi: Ahead of the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, the official X account of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) shared a video on 5 December, 2024, featuring actor Pankaj Tripathi. The video claims Tripathi spoke out against voting for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In the clip, Tripathi, dressed as a peanut vendor, checks his phone and addresses the camera. He says, “I sell peanuts, not my brain. See this message. The BJP has sent this, asking you to vote for us; we will do development. Here we will vote for them, and there, our money will disappear… Remember, if BJP entices you, say, ‘I am not a fool.’” Although the post was deleted shortly after, it had garnered over 65,000 views, 1,000 likes, and more than 400 reposts, according to an archive of the post.

Several other AAP-affiliated X accounts also shared the video. Archived versions can be viewed here and here.

Screenshot of the claims made online (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, our investigation found that the video was altered. The original video shows Tripathi cautioning against scams.

What we found

A reverse image search of the viral clip led us to the original video, which was uploaded on YouTube by the channel UPI Chalega (archived here) on 23 September, 2024. The video, titled “Peanutwala | Fake lottery link | UPI security awareness,” was part of a public awareness campaign about UPI (Unified Payments Interface) scams.

In the original version, Tripathi promotes UPI payments while warning viewers about potential fraud. He says, in Hindi (translated to English), “I sell peanuts, not my brain. Look at this message—it says, ‘You have won a lottery, click the link, enter your UPI pin, and win money!’ Don’t I know? I enter my UPI pin, and my money gets deducted. I’m a peanut vendor, not a fool. Remember, UPI says, if someone lures you, say, ‘I am not a fool.’”

Several discrepancies indicate the video has been digitally altered. At 0:09 in the viral clip, Tripathi shows his mobile screen with a “Vote for BJP” message, but this text is visibly edited. In the original video, the screen displays a white background with black text that reads “Winner.”

Additionally, the lip-sync in the viral video does not match the original clip, further confirming that the video has been manipulated to falsely portray Tripathi as speaking against the BJP.

The audio also bears a resemblance to Pankaj Tripathi’s voice, suggesting the possible use of artificial intelligence (AI) to clone it. TrueMedia, an online deepfake detection tool, found significant evidence of manipulation in the clip, with one detector indicating an 85 percent likelihood that the audio was generated by an AI tool.

The verdict

A digitally altered video featuring actor Pankaj Tripathi has gone viral with false claims that he urged people not to vote for the BJP. In reality, the actor was cautioning viewers about UPI fraud.

This story was originally published by Logically Facts as part of the Shakti Collective. Apart from the headline, excerpt and introduction, this story has not been edited by ThePrint staff.