{
  "id": 18112521,
  "title": "Delhi Police registers FIR against Prashant Bhushan over doctored video of Russian Foreign Minister",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/delhi-police-registers-fir-against-prashant-bhushan-over-doctored",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-04T11:27:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/delhi-police-files-fir-against-prashant-bhushan-over-fake-russian-foreign-minister/article71665173.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Delhi Police have filed a First Information Report (FIR) against advocate Prashant Bhushan following the alleged circulation of a manipulated video featuring Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The incident was brought to the attention of the Special Cell by cyber patrolling on November 3. The FIR was registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act, including forgery for reputational harm, incitement of violence, defamation, fraudulent use of electronic records, and identity theft. The police claim the matter arose after social media user @thequotesnews shared claims of a doctored video of Mr. Lavrov criticizing India's internal affairs and oil purchases on Bhushan's social media handle, @pbhushan1. The video was alleged to contain misleading, defamatory, and inflammatory content intended to incite public disturbance and spread rumors. Both the Ministry of External Affairs' Fact Check unit and the Russian Embassy had previously dismissed the video as fabricated. Bhushan had shared the clip on social media, presenting it as a \"tight slap\" against the Indian government. The Ministry and the Russian Embassy subsequently confirmed the video's falsification through digitally altered audio and captions. Further investigation into the matter is currently underway.",
  "summary": "Special Cell invoked the BNS and IT Act after a video alleging Sergey Lavrov criticised India over internal affairs and oil purchases was flagged as fake by government fact-checkers and the Russian Embassy",
  "key_points": [
    "Delhi Police files FIR against Prashant Bhushan.",
    "Video of Sergey Lavrov is alleged to be doctored.",
    "Charges include forgery, defamation, and incitement."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The legal action against the advocate signals an increasing crackdown on the digital circulation of manipulated media that threatens diplomatic relations and risks inciting domestic public disturbance.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "New Voice of Ukraine",
        "title": "UK education minister apologizes to Ukrainian refugee children pushed to study Russian in English schools",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/uk-education-minister-apologizes-to-ukrainian-refugee-children-pushed",
        "published": "2026-11-04T11:26:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express",
        "title": "Delhi Police protest: Why cops cannot take to the streets like ordinary citizens",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/delhi-police-protest-why-cops-cannot-take-to-the-streets-like",
        "published": "2026-11-04T11:48:08.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "SABC News",
        "title": "Minister dismisses claims of foreign nationals voting",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/minister-dismisses-claims-of-foreign-nationals-voting",
        "published": "2026-11-04T11:57:13.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}