Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has strongly condemned a manipulated video circulating online that shows him praising Pakistan for agreeing to face India in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
The clip, widely shared across social media platforms, purports to capture the Thiruvananthapuram Parliamentarian praising Islamabad's decision to reverse its earlier position on the fixture. However, Tharoor has dismissed the footage as fabricated, describing it as an AI-generated imitation designed to mislead viewers.
In the fake video, Tharoor can be heard saying, “I think how Pakistan played is indeed brilliant. I don't know what they would do on the field, but what they did diplomatically is absolute brilliance. Indian cricket board was completely pinned, hands down.”
The fake video further shows Tharoor saying that astute diplomatic strategy can allow even a modest power to look like Goliath.
Reacting to the video, Tharoor said, “AI-generated ‘fake news' — and not even very good. Neither my language nor my voice.”
Netizens reacted strongly to Tharoor's post.
A user said, “Pakistan spreading this fake Tharoor W while their team nearly forfeited the biggest rivalry match because of politics? That's not bold stand, that's folding faster than a cheap kurta in the wash.”
Another account posted a video showing a comparison between the fake and the real video.
A person wrote, “AI is getting dangerous. Five years down the line, we will not be able to distinguish between reality and imagination.”
Previously, Tharoor had criticised Pakistan's decision to skip its match against India.
"It is pretty disgraceful that sport has been politicised in this way on both sides, frankly. I don't think that Mustafizur (Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman) should have been denied his contract to play in Kolkata. It was the most unfortunate intrusion of politics," Tharoor had said.
Having previously signalled its intention to skip the encounter with India, Pakistan has since reversed course. With the boycott threat lifted, the high-profile World Cup match will be played as scheduled in Colombo this Sunday.
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