‘Fake alert’: MEA debunks fake post attributing remarks on Russia-Ukraine war to Jaishankar

The fact checking unit called the post “fake” and urged users to caution against malicious posts on social media platforms. The external affairs ministry’s fact check unit on Tuesday debunked a viral social media post falsely attributed to EAM S Jaishankar, which claimed that he had expressed disappointment over the Russian minister’s “sarcastic” response to his appeal for peace between Russia and Ukraine.MEA Fact Check shared several screenshots of the same posts by different users with a “fake”, “AI-generated” red stamp on them. (Screengrab/X/@MEAFactCheck)The fact checking unit called the post “fake” and urged users to caution against malicious posts on social media platforms.The purported video shows a fabricated clip of Jaishankar and a statement suggesting that he had appealed to both countries to understand that war brings only economic hardship and destruction.“We called on both Russia and Ukraine to understand that war serves no one and only brings economic hardship and destruction. I am deeply disappointed by the Russian minister’s sarcastic and disrespectful reaction to my sincere appeal for peace,” read the caption of the misleading post.Another fabricated X post read, “We explained to the Russian, European, and Ukrainian ministers that there is no benefit in fighting wars. From different perspectives, conflicts damage economies and hinder economic growth. When such powerful countries fight against each other”The MEA fact check unit shared several screenshots of the same post by different users with a “fake”, “AI-generated” red stamp on them.The fabricated clip appears to be from when the external affairs minister attended the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta, US on October 30-31.What Jaishankar had saidIn the original clip, Jaishankar said that India had discussed three aspects of the Ukraine conflict with Russia, Kyiv and European countries.He added that the discussions covered protecting civilian shipping and seafarers from attacks, restoring grain exports from Russia and Ukraine, and the third aspect was related to energy, which he said was the “most complicated”.“I had gone earlier to Moscow, and even today I discussed it with Mr Lavrov (Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov), and then in between I had gone to Kyiv, and we are in touch with the Ukrainian side. We have also been coordinating this with the Americans because they have their own peace mediation initiative,” he said.Indian Army debunks claims of Chinese intrusion at Sikkim's Nathu LaMeanwhile, the Indian Army’s official fact-checking wing, Indian Army Fact Check, had issued a public warning last week against social media accounts allegedly circulating misleading claims about Chinese vehicles near the India-China border.The accounts had shared a video of Chinese commercial vehicles seen at Nathu La in Sikkim, falsely portraying it as an unauthorised entry into Indian territory, the fact-checking wing said.In a post titled “Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour Exposed”, the Army clarified that the original footage shows JAC-branded Chinese commercial vehicles at Nathu La, a designated India-China border trade point.The video is being misrepresented as evidence of a Chinese military intrusion, while its accompanying caption alleges that mainstream Indian media is deliberately concealing the incident, the Army said.Follow the latest breaking news, major developments and agenda-setting stories from India and around the world with the newsdesk at Hindustan Times. 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