‘Not My Language…’: Shashi Tharoor Calls Out Fake 'AI Video' Of Him Praising Pakistan

Last Updated:February 12, 2026, 19:31 IST

In a purported clip, a voice resembling Tharoor appeared to praise Pakistan’s diplomatic strategy after it withdrew its boycott threat.

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor reacted strongly to a viral video that falsely attributed remarks to him regarding Pakistan’s decision to reverse its proposed boycott of the high-stakes India-Pakistan T20 World Cup clash.

Dismissing the clip as fabricated, Tharoor said, “AI-generated ‘fake news’ — and not even very good. Neither my language nor my voice."

The video, circulated by a Pakistani propaganda social media account, featured a poorly generated clone of Tharoor’s voice. In the clip, a voice resembling Tharoor appeared to praise Pakistan’s diplomatic strategy after it withdrew its boycott threat.

“I think how Pakistan played is indeed brilliant. I don’t know what they would do on field, but what they did diplomatically is absolute brilliance. Indian cricket board was completely pinned, hands down. This serves as a lesson that good diplomacy can even make a weak nation appear as a Goliath. Pakistan has done it, and I want to appreciate them for it. It’s unthinkable," a voice resembling Tharoor in the purported video said.

Earlier, an AI-altered audio clip allegedly featuring BCCI Vice President and Congress leader Rajiv Shukla was aired on a Pakistani cricket talk show on ARY News, hosted by former cricketer Shoaib Malik.

The supposed audio clip featured a voice resembling Shukla expressing satisfaction over negotiations led by the International Cricket Council (ICC) that persuaded Pakistan to participate in the match. However, Shukla later clarified that the audio had been manipulated.

“A video of my remarks on the India-Pakistan World Cup match has been manipulated using AI to alter the audio. These statements are not mine. I urge everyone not to believe or circulate this misleading content and to report it wherever such videos are seen," Shukla said in a post on X.

He added that the ICC’s decision to facilitate the match was important for the sport. “This decision is very important for cricket. Cricket must go on and the World Cup will now be a big success," he said, emphasizing that the global cricket body had taken all stakeholders’ interests into account.

The edited videos provided a false narrative on the Pakistan-ICC standoff over the T20 World Cup match. Pakistan announced that they will boycott the match as a show of support for Bangladesh, but following negotiations with the global cricket body, they made a dramatic U-turn on their decision.

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