Is Army Chief Dhiraj Seth dancing with a major's wife? This video is AI-edited

A video of a woman in a saree dancing with a man in a dark suit is being widely shared with a sensational claim. Allegedly, it shows the Chief of the Army Staff, General Dhiraj Seth, with Supreet Sapra, a major’s wife.Both can be seen grooving to a Punjabi song while holding glasses of alcohol. The video features the CNN logo and the headline: “Indian Army Chief Dhiraj Seth Spotted Dancing with Army Major’s wife Supreet Sapra”. The bottom right corner of the video features a photograph of a woman in a white saree and a uniformed man.An X user shared the video with the caption: “A viral video circulating on social media appears to show Indian Army Chief Dhiraj Seth flirting with an Army Major’s wife, Supreet Sapra.” India Today Fact Check found that neither does this video show Army Chief Dhiraj Seth, nor was any such report published by CNN.OUR PROBEUpon close observation, we noticed multiple signs of the video either being synthetic or AI-manipulated. For example, the alcohol in their glasses doesn’t move at all as they dance. Also, almost throughout the video, the man’s face appears frozen solid with a wide smile. We tested the video using several AI detection tools. Meta’s tool identified AI signatures in the video. Another tool, isfake.ai, also identified it as synthetic.We then found a video shared by an Instagram user called Rhythm Gupta on March 11, where two people could be seen dancing. The man and the woman were different from the viral video, as was the backdrop. But the dance steps and movements were exactly the same. And in this video, the drinks in the glasses did appear to splash as they moved. This made it clear that the viral video was generated using this clip as a reference.CNN, SUPREET, ARMY — ALL SAY NOWe did not find any report published by CNN about General Dhiraj Seth dancing with a woman. A CNN spokesperson told India Today Fact Check that the video was doctored and not something that CNN had ever published.As per Supreet Sapra’s Instagram account, she is the wife of former Lt Colonel Angad Rajpal Singh. The photo in the bottom right corner of the viral video was actually posted by her on Instagram on February 23.Speaking to India Today Fact Check, she said: “It's a fake AI-generated video by Pakis impersonating me. So, there's no truth to it. Also, I'm not a major's wife. I don't even know the person dancing.”The Indian Army’s official fact-checking account also clarified that the video in question was edited.Thus, it’s clear that a video was manipulated using AI to spread false rumours about General Dhiraj Seth.(With inputs from Md Mahfooz Alam)- Ends