The story so far: Last month a video featuring actor Rashmika Mandanna went viral on social media, sparking a combination of shock and horror among netizens. The seconds-long clip, which featured Mandanna’s likeness, showed a woman entering a lift in a bodysuit. The original video was of a British Indian influencer named Zara Patel, which was manipulated using deepfake technology. Soon after, the actor took to social media to express her dismay, writing, ”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.”
Deepfakes are digital media — video, audio, and images edited and manipulated using Artificial Intelligence (AI). Since they incorporate hyper-realistic digital falsification, they can potentially be used to damage reputations, fabricate evidence, and undermine trust in democratic institutions. This phenomenon has forayed into political messaging as well, a serious concern in the run-up to the general elections next year.
Back in 2020, in the first-ever use of AI-generated deepfakes in political campaigns, a series of videos of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manoj Tiwari were circulated on multiple WhatsApp groups. The videos showed Tiwari hurling allegations against his political opponent Arvind Kejriwal in English and Haryanvi, before the Delhi elections. In a similar incident, a doctored video of Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath recently went viral, creating confusion over the future of the State government’s Laadli Behna Scheme.
