Patna: The political battleground in Bihar has officially extended into the digital realm, highlighting the new challenge posed by manipulated media. Celebrated Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee found himself caught in the crossfire of the 2025 Assembly Elections after a highly edited video, allegedly leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, circulated widely, falsely implying his support for the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
The deepfake video, which was reportedly posted and later deleted by a parody account associated with RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, showed the actor seemingly endorsing the party ahead of next month’s crucial voting period.
Bajpayee’s Urgent Denial
I would like to publicly state that I have no association or allegiance with any political party. The video being circulated is a fake, patched-up edit of an ad I did for @PrimeVideoIN. I sincerely appeal to everyone sharing it to stop spreading such distorted content and urge… https://t.co/teeCJLhgvI
— manoj bajpayee (@BajpayeeManoj) October 16, 2025
The spread of the fabricated endorsement forced the actor to issue an immediate and forceful denial to curb the misrepresentation. Taking to his official account on X (formerly Twitter), Manoj Bajpayee clarified his neutral political stance.
“I sincerely appeal to all those sharing this to stop spreading such distorted content and urge people not to engage with or encourage such misleading content,” the actor wrote. His statement was clear: he holds no affiliation with any political party currently contesting the Bihar elections.
This incident underscores the escalating role of digital manipulation in modern political campaigning. While parties like the BJP, JD (U), RJD, Congress, and LJP are all utilizing social media for outreach and debate, the use of AI to create deepfake endorsements represents a severe challenge to election integrity and voter trust.
