In a major breakthrough, the Delhi Police on Saturday arrested the prime accused in the Rashmika Mandanna deepfake video case. The video had gone viral on social media in last November, prompting increased calls for regulations on social media platforms.
In the original video, British-Indian influencer Zara Patel was entering a lift in a black outfit. However, the accused allegedly used AI to morph Mandanna’s face onto the face of Patel in the deepfake video.
Expressing her concern, Mandanna described the incident as “extremely scary” and highlighted the vulnerability individuals face due to the misuse of technology. “Something like this is honestly, extremely scary not only for me but also for each one of us who today is vulnerable to so much harm because of how technology is being misused,” she stated after the incident.
After the deepfake video went viral, the Centre issued an advisory to social media platforms, emphasising the legal provisions regarding deepfakes and potential penalties associated with their creation and distribution.
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar held meetings with social media platforms in December to assess their progress in combating misinformation and deepfakes. He stressed that advisories would be issued within the next two days to ensure full compliance by the platforms.
Deepfakes, a type of synthetic media created using artificial intelligence, employ advanced algorithms to manipulate visual and audio elements. The term gained prominence in 2017 when a Reddit user introduced a platform for sharing manipulated videos.
Since then, advancements in deepfake technology have raised concerns, presenting a potential tool for cybercriminals to disrupt and tarnish the reputation of individuals, companies, or governments.
Rashmika Mandanna is not the only celebrity to fall prey to the menace of deepfake videos, as celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Alia Bhatt, Kajol, Sachin Tendulkar, etc. have also gone through the same ordeal.