Multiple Pakistani accounts and users on social media platform X shared a clip allegedly showing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticizing Pakistan for refusing to play the group-stage match against India in the upcoming T20 World Cup. However, the video is dubbed over with AI-generated audio. On February 8, Pakistan announced it would not be playing its match against India, scheduled for February 15, in the ICC T20 World Cup in Colombo.
On February 3, a propagandist account, known for posting doctored and dubbed videos, shared a video of Modi on X with the caption: “Breaking news: Prime Minister Modi releases an alarming statement in the wake of upcoming T20 world Cup. ‘Pakistan first invited us to play in Sri Lanka and when our team went there for the group match, they left us; this is embarrassing.’”
The post gained 133,400 views.
Another account shared the same video with a caption: “Pakistan first invited us to play in Sri Lanka, and when our team went there for the group match, they ditched us and left: Modi.”
Several other users also shared these posts. A fact-check was initiated due to the viral nature of the claim and public interest in the upcoming T20 World Cup match between Pakistan and India.
A keyword search did not yield any credible reports from Indian, Pakistani or international media outlets confirming such remarks made by Modi.
An analysis with AI-detection tool Attestive Video showed the clip was flagged as 71% AI-generated. Another tool, Deepware, identified it as an AI-generated deepfake.
A reverse image search led to the original video of Modi’s speech from May 12, 2025, posted on his YouTube account where he discussed a conflict between India and Pakistan in May 2025.
Modi’s remarks were covered by multiple reputable Indian media outlets like NDTV, Indian Express, Times of India, and India Today. None reported any such criticism from Modi regarding the T20 World Cup match against Pakistan.
Consequently, the fact-check determined that the claim that a viral video shows Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticizing Pakistan for backing out of the upcoming T20 World Cup match is false; it is doctored and has been dubbed over using AI. This fact check was originally published by iVerify Pakistan — a project of CEJ-IBA and UNDP.