Posts use manipulated video to spread false endorsement of Bihar election candidate

The video appearing to show Bollywood actor Sonu Sood endorsing actor-turned-politician Khesari Lal Yadav in the upcoming Bihar state assembly elections was shared on X on October 29, 2025.

"Sonu Sood supports Khesari Lal Yadav, listen to what he said to his opponents,” reads its Hindi-language caption.

The first half of the minute-long video appears to show Sood saying in Hindi: "I heard that Khesari Lal Yadav is contesting the elections from Chhapra, and many people are opposing him.

"I want to tell those people: Who are you to question someone else's decision? You chose your own path, and Khesari Lal chose his. He’s in the right place. I stand with Khesari, wish him all the best, and hope he wins the election to help the people."

The second-half of the video is a Hindi-language voiceover that says, "Friends, as you saw, Sonu Sood openly supported Khesari Lal Yadav and said, 'Don't worry, you will win.' What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments."

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Screenshot of the false X post, taken on October 31, 2025, with a red X mark added by AFP

The video was also shared in similar Instagram and X posts a week before the elections in Bihar -- India’s third most populous state -- scheduled for November 6, where a grand alliance of opposition parties including Congress, Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) and other left-wing parties is locked in a neck-and-neck contest with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Janata Dal United alliance (archived link).

The polls will see Yadav -- a well-known Bhojpuri actor and singer -- stand as a candidate for an opposition alliance hoping to wrest control of the state assembly from the ruling BJP bloc (archived link).

But the video of Sood appearing to endorse Yadav shows signs of being manipulated.

The audio does not match the movement of Sood's lips, and features abrupt edits.

AFP extracted the audio from the first half of the video and ran it through the Hiya.com voice-cloning detection tool within the Verification Plugin, also known as InVID-WeVerify, which assessed it was "very likely AI-generated".

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Results of the Hiya.com voice-cloning detection tool

A subsequent keyword search led to a video posted on Sood's verified Instagram account on October 25 with the same visuals but different audio (archived link).

Sood, who is admired for his social work and previously helped thousands of stranded migrant workers in areas including Bihar return home during the Covid-19 pandemic, is in fact delivering a message about kindness and generosity (archived link). 

"Someone once said something remarkable: If you have more than you need, don't build bigger walls, but bigger tables so more people can eat with you," he says.

"Sharing increases love and reduces sorrow. The world will change if you and I hold hands. So, when you have more than you need, try sharing it -- share your greatest joys with someone, and see how the world changes."

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Screenshot comparison of the false post (left) and Sood's post (right)

At no point in the video does Sood mention Yadav or express any support for his participation in the Bihar elections.

AFP has previously debunked similar posts using manipulated videos to falsely claim actors had endorsed candidates during elections.

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