During the Cockroach Janta Party protests, a video spread showing Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal apparently suggesting that "two-three cockroaches" be publicly hanged to stop the protests. It is false: fact-checker Newschecker identified it as a doctored clip, one of several AI fakes of senior officials.
Claim: A video shows Piyush Goyal saying protesters, the "cockroaches", should be hanged.
Said by: Pro-protest social media posts.
What the record shows: The clip is doctored. Newschecker classed it among AI-generated or edited fakes, alongside similar videos of Rajnath Singh and the Chief of Defence Staff.
Where the claim came from
The protesters called themselves "cockroaches" after Chief Justice Surya Kant used the word about some jobless youth on 15 May 2026. New Indian Express That made the word an easy hook for fakes.
The Goyal clip went viral during the protests, which ran from May to July 2026. It showed the minister suggesting that "two-three cockroaches" be publicly hanged so the protests would stop. Newschecker described it as viral but did not publish reach figures. Newschecker
It was shared by accounts sympathetic to the protests, as evidence of how ministers viewed young people.
What the evidence shows
False Newschecker's review of misinformation around the protests lists the Goyal clip as a doctored video and links its separate fact-check. Newschecker
It was part of a pattern. Newschecker found:
- AI-altered videos of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Kiren Rijiju and Bansuri Swaraj threatening protesters with decades in prison and the use of force.
- An AI-edited video of Chief of Defence Staff General N.S. Raja Subramani saying "there are certain cockroaches in India and we know how to treat them".
- A fake Delhi Police PRO statement.
Across May to July 2026, Newschecker published 68 fact-checks on the protests. It rated 47 false and 15 as altered photos or videos, and counted 15 confirmed AI-generated or edited items. X (37 cases) and Facebook (24) carried the most. Newschecker
No genuine recording of Goyal using such words has been found, and no news outlet reported him saying them.
Context
Fakes ran both ways. Against the protesters, a deepfake showed External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar "seeking Dipke's extradition", and old videos were passed off as CJP violence. BOOM BOOM
Since 10 February 2026, amended IT Rules require AI-generated content to carry traceable metadata and cut takedown time to 3 hours. Digital Defenders Network More on fakes and creators is on our page on Gen Z creators and protest videos.
Questions people ask
Did Piyush Goyal say cockroaches should be hanged?
No. The viral video is doctored. Newschecker identified it as a fake made during the CJP protests.
Were there other deepfakes of ministers during the CJP protests?
Yes. Fakes showed Rajnath Singh, Kiren Rijiju, Bansuri Swaraj and the Chief of Defence Staff threatening protesters.
How many AI fakes circulated during the protests?
Newschecker counted 15 confirmed AI-generated or edited items among 68 fact-checks between May and July 2026.
Sources
- Newschecker: Anatomy of an information battle, how fake news shadowed the CJP protests, 2026
- New Indian Express: CJI on "cockroaches" remark, 16 May 2026
- BOOM: Jaishankar video is a deepfake, 2026
- BOOM: Old videos shared to push pro-police narrative, Jul 2026
- Digital Defenders Network (SFLC.in): The regulatory pincer, 2026
