Ravish Kumar denies deepfake allegations by Dainik Bhaskar journalist over fighter pilot inquiry
New Delhi: A controversy has erupted on social media following accusations made by Mukesh Kaushik, a journalist with Dainik Bhaskar, against journalist Ravish Kumar. Kaushik alleged that Kumar and other YouTubers were questioning the whereabouts of Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh, a Rafale fighter pilot, after "Operation Sindoor" on May 7th, 2025.
Mukesh Kaushik shared his claims on Facebook, along with a screenshot of a Dainik Bhaskar article dated June 8th, 2025. The article reported that the Indian Air Force had dismissed Pakistani claims regarding the pilot and confirmed that Squadron Leader Singh remains on active duty. The report also mentioned that some Indian YouTubers, particularly in her hometown of Banaras, had raised concerns about her visibility.
Ravish Kumar strongly refuted these allegations through a post on X. He asserted that he had never raised any questions about Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh and that the video in question is a "deep fake." Kumar stated that he is not even familiar with the name and had previously clarified that he did not create any such video, labeling it as a manipulated fabrication.
Kumar criticised Mukesh Kaushik for propagating "fake news on fake news" by associating his name with the deceptive video. He implied that Kaushik should have been able to discern the deep fake and perhaps lacked awareness of Kumar's official online presence on YouTube and Twitter.
Ravish Kumar further accused Kaushik of falsely attributing the spread of misinformation to him. He suggested that Kaushik should examine the deep fake video more carefully and recommended he read a Washington Post report to understand the actions of certain media outlets.
दैनिक भास्कर के पत्रकार मुकेश कौशिक ने लिखा है कि मैंने स्क्वाड्रन लीडर शिवानी सिंह को लेकर सवाल उठाए हैं। मैं न तो इस नाम से परिचित हूँ और न सवाल उठाए हैं। किसी ने डीप फेक का इस्तेमाल कर मेरे नाम और चेहरे से वीडियो बनाया है। कल ही ट्वीट किया था कि मैंने शिवानी सिंह पर कोई वीडियो… pic.twitter.com/cAhrrUmCGs
— ravish kumar (@ravishndtv) June 9, 2025
Earlier, Ravish Kumar had also posted about the existence of deep fake videos using his image and voice, alerting his followers and YouTube to the issue.
ये डीप फेक है। मैंने ऐसा कोई वीडियो नहीं बनाया है। ऐसे कई वीडियो चैनल बन गए हैं जो मेरी आवाज़ और तस्वीर का इस्तेमाल करते हैं । @YouTube @YouTubeIndia https://t.co/oiGiIrg403
— ravish kumar (@ravishndtv) June 7, 2025
The exchange also drew reaction from other journalists, with Shyam Meera Singh expressing his opinion that Mukesh Kaushik's post reflected frustration with Ravish Kumar's popularity.
जो “लहजा और ताप” मुकेश कौशिक जी ने इस्तेमाल किया है उससे पता लगता है वे आपकी लोकप्रियता से कितने कुंठित हैं। मीडिया में ऐसे लोगों की कमी नहीं है जिन्हें नाली की मक्खियाँ भी छूने नहीं आतीं, मगर उनका दुख हिमालय पर्वत से बड़ा है।
— Shyam Meera Singh (@ShyamMeeraSingh) June 9, 2025
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Assembly polls: Rs 650 crore worth illicit cash, liquor seized; nearly half from West Bengal
New Delhi (PTI): Enforcement authorities across the four poll-going states and Puducherry have seized over Rs 650 crore worth of illicit cash, drugs and liquor meant to allure voters, the Election Commission said on Sunday.
According to data shared by the poll authority, Rs 319 crore of illicit cash, drugs, liquor and valuable metals have been seized from West Bengal, followed by Rs 170 crore in Tamil Nadu.
Over 5,173 flying squads have been deployed to ensure that the complaints are attended to within 100 minutes.
Besides this, over 5,200 static surveillance teams (SSTs) have also been deployed for setting up surprise nakas (broadly, barricades) at different locations, the poll authority said.
While Kerala, Assam and Puducherry go to the polls on April 9, voting in West Bengal will be in two phases on April 23 and 29. Tamil Nadu will have assembly polls in a single phase on April 23.
Assembly bypolls will also be held in eight seats across six states on April 9 and 23.
The data, EC said, has been collated from the Electronic Seizure Management System.
While assembly elections and by-elections were announced on March 15, the Electronic Seizure Management System (ESMS) was activated on February 26.
