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No, Piyush Goyal did not call for hanging ‘cockroaches’; viral video is a deepfake

Amid the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protests and the surrounding uproar over police brutality against student and youth demonstrators, a video of Union Minister Piyush Goyal has gone viral on social media over this past week. In the clip, Goyal can purportedly be heard saying, (translated from Hindi), “I believe that we should hang a 2-3 of these ‘cockroaches’ so that this Cockroach Janta Party can understand the reality of our power and the extent till which we can go…”

Several X users shared the video criticising Goyal for his alleged remarks. (Archive)

Another X user @SureshC85120965 also shared the same video, condemning Goyal’s alleged  statements. (Archive)

“People of this country, listen carefully. This statement by Union Minister Piyush Goyal reflects a hangman’s mindset and intent. Intoxicated by the power they have gained through your votes, BJP leaders have become so arrogant that they now want to display that power against you. The ‘cockroach’ they talk about hanging at a public square could be any one of your children, even the children of their own blind supporters,” reads the tweet (translated from Hindi).

Samajwadi Party leader IP Singh had also shared the video through his X account, in which he strongly condemned Goyal’s alleged remarks, claiming that the latter is “issuing Hitler-style threats to hang the nation’s children and students”. However, the post has now been deleted. (Archive)

Several other X users amplified the same viral clip with similar claims.

Click to view slideshow.

Fact Check

A closer examination of the video reveals that the movements of Goyal’s mouth while speaking appears unnatural and are out of sync with the purported audio, suggesting that the clip has been manipulated using AI. Using this as a lead, we performed a reverse image search on several keyframes from the video and traced the original footage to a video uploaded by PTI on July 23.

In the PTI video, Goyal was seen referencing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of setting up fast-track courts for paper leak cases. He can be heard speaking about how the government aims to take several additional measures to ensure that the hopes and aspirations of the country’s youth are fulfilled.

“We appeal to the Congress party and the Opposition to not politicise this issue. Do not shy away from a discussion. The Opposition is avoiding a debate and politicising the matter. We strongly condemn this. We urge everyone to maintain peace and fulfil our collective responsibility to resolve this issue through discussion…” he had said.

After the AI video went viral, Goyal himself released a statement on X on July 25, clarifying: “My remarks to the media outside Parliament have been maliciously doctored using AI to create and circulate a deepfake video in an attempt to spread misinformation.” A police complaint at the Chanakyapuri Police Station had been registered on Saturday, he said, adding that “strict legal action will be taken against everyone involved in creating, circulating, or amplifying this fake video”.

The Press Information Bureau also published a fact check on X post, claiming that the fake AI video of Goyal was being circulated by Pakistani propaganda handles.

To sum up, the video of Goyal calling for the hanging of CJP protesters to send a message to the Cockroach Janata Party is an AI-generated deepfake. The original footage, posted by PTI on July 23, contains no such claims, instead Goyal is actually speaking about setting up fast-track courts and additional measures for the youth of the country.


This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Shinjinee Majumder.