Clip of Muslim doctor slapping Bihar's former chief minister is AI-generated
- Published on May 11, 2026 at 09:39
- 3 min read
- By Ayesha MIRZA, AFP Pakistan
The former chief minister of India's Bihar state sparked widespread outrage when he yanked down a Muslim doctor's veil during a ceremony in December 2025, but a clip circulating on social media that purportedly shows her slapping the politician is AI-generated. News footage from the event does not show any physical altercation, and there were no reports of the minister being smacked. Inconsistencies in the video indicate it is inauthentic content.
"The brave Indian woman who slapped the chief minister for removing her veil," reads the Urdu-language caption of a Facebook video shared on April 30, 2026.
The video appears to show a man attempting to pull down a woman's veil before she slaps him in the face, leaving onlookers stunned.
The same video was also shared in similar Instagram, Threads and TikTok posts.
Social media users applauded the woman, writing comments that said: "Well done dear sister, you have won the hearts of Muslims. Keep it up. Do not back down. Keep hitting them like this. Well done."
Another wrote: "This slap will haunt this wretch till hell."
Concocted reaction
While the former chief minister of India's Bihar state Nitish Kumar sparked widespread outrage in December 2025 by yanking down a Muslim woman's niqab, the clip circulating on social media fabricates the pair's interaction (archived link).
Kumar had been handing out appointment letters to newly recruited state-licensed traditional or alternative medicine practitioners at his residence in Patna on December 15, 2025.
When Dr Nusrat Parveen approached Kumar to receive her letter, he asked her what she was wearing and told her to remove her veil (archived link). Before Parveen could respond, the then chief minister reached towards her veil and pulled it down, exposing her mouth and chin (archived link).
Reports about the incident said it had caused an uproar across India, but there was no mention of Parveen slapping the official.
AFP reached out to Parveen for comment, but did not receive a response by time of publication.
A reverse image search using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to footage showing their interaction, posted by Indian news outlet NewsX Live on YouTube on December 15, 2025 (archived link).
While the news footage is similar to the falsely shared video, with a corresponding backdrop and figures in the background, it does not show Parveen slapping Kumar.
The news footage shows former deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary reaching out towards Kumar after he pulls down the doctor's veil, while another woman simultaneously holds on to Parveen's shoulder.
The camera then pans away and shows other cameramen filming the stage but there is no audible commotion that would indicate a slap had occurred. It eventually moves back towards the stage and Parveen is seen moving away from the stage while adjusting her veil.
The Information and Public Relations Department of Bihar also shared footage of the ceremony, though the section showing Kumar's interaction with Parveen appears to have been cut out (archived link).
However, the falsely shared video has visual errors indicating it was generated with the help of AI, including incoherent words on the backdrop and text that differs from the actual backdrop visible in the news footage. The woman's hand also changes colour and distorts after she slaps Kumar.
Moreover, the figures in the background of the falsely shared video differ to how they appear in the news footage.
For example, Chaudhary was sporting a beard and wearing an orange scarf around his neck, but these are both missing in the falsely shared clip. Another man who appears behind Kumar after he is supposedly slapped does not appear anywhere in the news footage.
An analysis of the footage by the DeepFake-O-Meter detection tool developed by the University at Buffalo in New York found the clip was likely AI-generated (archived link).
AFP has previously debunked other misinformation designed to inflame religious conflicts.
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