Trump Tariff: India Cut Down Generic Drugs Export To US By Half? Here’s The Truth Behind ‘News Report By Rajat Sharma’

A video claiming to show senior journalist Rajat Sharma, Chairman and  Editor-in-Chief of India TV, “reporting” that the Indian government has cut the exports of generic drugs and medicines to the US by 50% in response to the American tariffs has gone viral online. The video further alleges that India’s “strategic action” triggered a  “medical emergency-like situation” in the US with its “pharmaceutical industry collapsing” and “hospitals experiencing shortage of medicines.”

Newschecker’s investigation, however, found the claim to be untrue. 

The purported news report, spanning over eight minutes and forty seconds, is being widely circulated across social media platforms, with users hailing the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. 

Such posts can be seen here, here and here.

Also Read: Did Indian Air Force Chief Admit To Losing 6 Jets In Conflict With Pakistan? No, Viral Clip Is Manipulated

Fact Check/Verification

A keyword search for “India” “50% cut” “pharmaceuticals” and “US” on Google did not yield any credible report/official release supporting the viral claim. We then skimmed through the official social media handles of Rajat Sharma (seen here, here and here) and India TV (seen here, here and here), which, too, did not mention any such information. The official website of the news outlet as well as its YouTube channel also did not feature any such report. 

We noticed that the viral clip was missing the logo of the news channel, accompanying text overlays, date-time stamp which is typically seen in the broadcasts by the media outlet, further raising our doubts.

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi Vs Election Commission – PM Modi’s 2014 X Post Criticising Poll Body Shared Out Of Context

Moreover, on carefully examining the video, we found that the voice was not in sync with his lips, and furthermore, Sharma’s lip movements seemed unnatural. His facial features appeared blurry/smudged, and spectacles seemed incomplete. Additionally, the flat tone of the audio  with no natural pauses, also pointed towards AI manipulation.

We then looked up a section of the video of AI detection tool Deepware which found it to be “suspicious.” 

Another AI content detection platform Hive Moderation found an overall 99.9% likelihood of the media containing AI generated or deepfake content.

Newschecker also ran the audio past ElevenLabs, an AI audio research and deployment company, which said it was “very likely (98% probability)” that the voice was generated with ElevenLabs.

Furthermore, we came across a news broadcast by India TV, dated July 15, 2025, featuring the journalist in the same attire as seen in the viral clip. The report did not mention any such cut in the pharmaceutical exports by India to the US, as was alleged. 

Also Read: ‘Let’s Count Jets’ – Old Images Falsely Shared As Pakistan Showing ‘Intact’ Fleet After IAF Chief Says 6 PAF Planes Downed

Conclusion

Hence, the viral report, on the Indian government’s alleged decision to reduce the exports of generic drugs to the US by half, was found to be false. 

Sources
Deepware Website
Hive Moderation Website
ElevenLabs Website
YouTube Video By India TV, Dated July 15, 2025