PIB refutes viral post claiming death in action of three members of a family serving in the Army

New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS) Strongly refuting misinformation being spread on social media, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) on Friday issued a fact check and clarified that a viral post claiming that three members of a family – a father and his two daughters – were martyred while serving the country is fake.

The viral post alleged that the father and his two daughters had died while serving in the armed forces. However, PIBFactCheck dismissed the claim on social media platform ‘X’ as false.

“The first photo being shared is from last year, when Lt Gen DP Singh was promoted to three-star rank and took command of the Military Intelligence Training School and Depot in Pune. During the ceremony, Lt Gen Singh’s two daughters, who also serve in the Indian Army, pinned the insignia on his uniform,” the PIB clarified.

“The second photo is from 2018, showing four Border Security Force personnel who were martyred in ceasefire violations by Pakistani Rangers,” the post said.

PIB concluded its fact check with a cautionary note: “Do not fall prey to such false claims. Rely only on information from official sources.”

This is not the first time PIB has had to take action to address viral misinformation. Earlier, on October 2, the PIB had rejected a digitally altered video of Leh Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Ghulam Muhammad, which falsely claimed that climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was arrested on the orders of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

The video, manipulated using artificial intelligence, falsely portrayed the ADC as saying that Wangchuk’s arrest was directed by the MHA. The Fact Check Unit of PIB clearly stated that the ADC did not make any such statement and the video was a deepfake aimed at misleading the public and spreading panic.

“Fake AI videos are being spread to mislead and create panic,” the PIB had warned, urging citizens to verify information before sharing and report misleading content to authorities.

The video surfaced after Wangchuk was arrested under the National Security Act (NSA) on September 26 following violent protests in Leh demanding Sixth Schedule status and statehood for Ladakh. The unrest resulted in four deaths and approximately 90 injuries. Wangchuk was later transferred to Jodhpur jail in Rajasthan. This is not the first case of deepfake content targeting officials in Ladakh.

–IANS

JK/DPB