Fact Check: BJP, AAP use manipulated clips of show Panchayat to target each other ahead of Delhi polls

Though both parties have labeled videos as 'spoofs', some social media users have shared AAP's video, raising concerns that The Viral Fever, producer of Panchayat, may be endorsing AAP.

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) exchanged barbs ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections by sharing deepfake videos, manipulating scenes from the popular web series Panchayat and its promotional material to mock the other.

Both videos clearly indicate that they are spoofs, yet some social media users have been sharing them on their pages, raising concerns about whether The Viral Fever, the producer of Panchayat, is endorsing the AAP in the Delhi elections.

BJP Delhi’s X handle shared a popular ‘dekh raha hai Binod’ scene from Panchayat, overlaying it with voice clones of actors Durgesh Kumar and Ashok Pathak who play Banrakas and Binod, respectively, in the series.

In the one-minute-long manipulated video, Kumar’s character claims that the AAP has been running a fraudulent data collection operation under the guise of registering people for schemes like the Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana and Sanjeevani Yojana. The actor goes on to warn viewers against registering for schemes that ask for personal information, cautioning them to avoid potential financial fraud.

Here is the archive.

ई तो गजबे फ्रॉड हो रहा है 😳👇 pic.twitter.com/ErWOlcW295

— BJP Delhi (@BJP4Delhi) December 29, 2024

In the video, the BJP uses a screenshot of a Dainik Jagran news article about questions being raised on AAP’s schemes and registration processes.

According to the article published on 25 December, government departments in Delhi have raised questions about AAP’s schemes and termed the registrations illegal. The controversy escalated after Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena, acting on a complaint from a Congress leader, directed the police to investigate alleged private companies collecting personal details of women for registration under the Mahila Samman Yojana, a poll promise made by the AAP.

The deepfake video shared by the BJP talks about the same controversy, calling AAP’s registration campaigns a fraud.

In reply to the allegations, former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal slammed the BJP for trying to order a “sham investigation to derail trust”.

He also leaned heavily on AAP’s free essential amenities scheme in the city, a message echoed by the manipulated video shared by AAP.

The official social media handle of the AAP also shared doctored content related to the Panchayat TV series. The manipulated video features a promotional shoot from the series, where lead actors Jitendra Kumar, Faisal Malik, and Raghubir Yadav are shown singing praises of the freebies provided to Delhi residents by the AAP government.

Here is an archive.

Hum Delhi se hain…. 😎👇#Spoof pic.twitter.com/VUI5FFdrYc

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) December 29, 2024

AI Voice Clone Used

We tested both the videos using TrueMedia.org’s deepfake detection tool available to journalists and researchers. For both the videos, results showed substantial evidence of being manipulated. There was also substantial evidence of AI-generated audio used in both the clips.

We also found the original videos doctored by BJP and AAP, respectively, to make the deepfakes. The first is here and the second is added below.

Handles on X have shared the AAP video and raised questions about The Viral Fever endorsing AAP in Delhi elections. BOOM reached out to Faisal Malik, one of the lead actors of the series, who denied any association with the political party.

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