The latest Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests had an unusual set of participants. Alongside popular YouTubers and activists, another group appeared to join the demonstrations, except they weren't real.
India Today's OSINT team identified social-media content featuring AI-generated protesters, fictional reporters, animated characters and digitally fabricated scenes. Some videos featured entirely fictional figures, while others digitally altered real people, making it increasingly difficult to tell what actually happened on the streets from what was circulated online.
At least 26 social-media reels associated with the latest protest cycle, including 22 from Instagram. The videos ranged from AI-generated memes and protest slogans to fictional influencers, cartoon characters and digital recreations of reported incidents. Several accounts also shared multiple videos built around similar themes.
An unofficial Bihar-based CJP Instagram handle featured a fictional, cockroach-faced reporter covering the protests and speaking about the anger of Gen Z demonstrators challenging the government. Animated crocodile characters were also used to narrate events and speak on behalf of protesters.
Meanwhile, several accounts were identified portraying AI-generated Gen Z influencers who pushed a contrasting narrative. These synthetic personalities criticised the CJP and its demonstrations. Some videos also claimed that the protests had been cancelled, even as demonstrations continued across Delhi.
Google's SynthID detector was used to screen videos for embedded AI watermarks, alongside examining their visual characteristics. SynthID can identify watermarked content generated or edited using supported AI systems, although the absence of a detectable watermark does not establish that a video is authentic.
The use of synthetic content extended beyond fictional reporters and influencers. Videos circulated purporting to recreate the reported detention of YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, while other clips featured digitally fabricated police officers delivering protest-related messages and updates.
Together, the videos presented different versions of the same political moment, sometimes through recognisably fictional characters and, in other cases, through visuals that resembled actual news footage.
When AI-generated women became part of the protest narrative
One widely circulated video depicted a young woman attempting to stop a police vehicle, in a scene reminiscent of Rhiya Ahir's earlier viral protest moment.
Other versions of the likely same video showed an apparently identical woman in different outfits against a matching background. The videos also drew comments targeting the woman's clothing and appearance.
India Today’s examination identified visual inconsistencies that raised questions about the footage’s authenticity. We analysed a screengrab from the viral clip using Sightengine, which returned a 93% likelihood of the image being AI-generated.
The sexualisation of women through synthetic protest imagery is, however, not new. During the July CJP demonstrations, fact-checkers documented videos in which actual footage of women protesters had been digitally manipulated, including alterations to their faces, bodies and clothing.
The latest examples highlight how AI-generated videos have become part of the online discourse surrounding CJP Protest 2.0, carrying competing narratives about the movement.
What remains unclear is who created these videos, whether the accounts distributing them were working together, and how widely the content circulated across Instagram.
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