'Head-scratchingly stupid stuff': BJP leader after Ishaq Dar shares an AI-generated image of article praising Pakistan Air Force

Hours after Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar shared an AI-generated false image of a British newspaper praising the Pakistan Air Force, BJP Kerala chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar poked some fun at India's western neighbour. The fake AI image, which was shared by Dar in Pakistan's Senate, was being widely circulated on Pakistani social media handles. 

Sharing a PIB Fact Check of the article shared by Dar, Chandrasekhar called it "head-scratchingly stupid stuff' from the Pakistan Army.

"Head-scratchingly stupid stuff from Pak's overfed, overmedalled Generals. I have said this before and can't help say this again - Apart from the Pak Army, only one other organisation operates on sole premise of "people are fools so lets just lie" - that is Rahuls Congress (sic)," Chandrasekhar said in a post on X. 

The PIB Fact Check shared by Chandrasekhar said that the claim is false and the image is AI-generated. It also added that The Daily Telegraph never published such an article. 

Dar told the Pakistan Senate that British newspaper The Daily Telegraph has praised the Pakistan Air Force. "British newspaper Daily Telegraph front page has said that Pakistan Air Force is the undisputed king of the skies," he told the Senate members.

The image shared by Dar was flagged by journalists and fact-checkers as being created using generative AI tools that can replicate the style and design of popular newspapers. Inconsistencies in the layout and fonts were also red flags for journalists and fact-checkers and raised doubts about its inauthenticity. 

Pakistan's largest daily Dawn fact-checked Dar's claim and debunked his claim as false. Chandrasekhar, however, was not the only BJP leader to condemn Dar for sharing a fake AI-generated article.

BJP social media head Amit Malviya said that Dar misled Pakistan's Senate by claiming The Daily Telegraph declared the Pakistan Air Force as "undisputed king of the skies" in a blatant attempt to save face. 

"But now, with Dawn itself calling out the falsehood, Pakistan’s credibility lies in tatters—along with that of its cheerleaders in India," he said. This, however, is not the first time that a Pakistani official has relied on unverified content from social media. 

Pakistan's defence minister Khawaja Asif recently claimed that Indian fighter jets, including Rafale, were downed by the Pakistani Air Force. When questioned by CNN for evidence of his claims, Asif said: "The proof is all over social media."