AAP posts AI-altered deepfake video of Pankaj Tripathi attacking BJP
The Aam Aadmi Party shared a deepfake video on X on 5 December 2024 that appeared to show actor Pankaj Tripathi urging voters not to support the BJP ahead of Delhi Assembly elections. Fact-checkers determined the video was altered using AI, with synthetic audio and visuals manipulated from an original 2024 NPCI public awareness campaign about digital payment fraud.
What happened
On 5 December 2024, the official X account of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) shared a video featuring actor Pankaj Tripathi, portraying him as cautioning against voting for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections.
The video showed Tripathi dressed as a peanut vendor saying: '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.' Though deleted shortly after posting, the video accumulated over 65,000 views, 1,000 likes, and more than 400 reposts.
Reported impact
The manipulated video spread to several other AAP-affiliated X accounts before being detected. Multiple fact-checking organizations published findings identifying the video as digitally altered.
Index analysis
Fact-checkers found the video was created using AI tools that manipulated synthetic audio and visuals. The original video was an NPCI public awareness campaign titled 'Peanutwala | Fake lottery link | UPI security awareness' uploaded to YouTube on 23 September 2024 by UPI Chalega, in which Tripathi cautioned viewers against falling prey to fake lottery links and scams.
The viral version altered the original content to insert political messaging attacking the BJP, changing the context from fraud awareness to election campaigning.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.