PM Modi Takes Cognisance Of The Rising Deepfake Issue, Directs Press To Raise Awareness

Joining the growing chorus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (November 17) raised the issue of deepfakes. While flagging the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) for creating synthetic images, PM Modi urged the media to educate people about the issue.

The development comes a week after the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) took suo moto cognisance of media reportage on a deepfake video that allegedly featured Indian actress Rashmika Mandana and was circulated widely on social media platforms. 

“Reportedly, the actress has also raised her concerns in the matter and has stated that someone has illegally morphed her picture in the video,” DCW’s notice to the Delhi Police read. The notice added that the matter was ‘very serious’ and noted that no arrests were made in the case.

The commission has sought a copy of the FIR registered in the matter, details of the accused and the action taken report by November 17. 

Taking to social media platform X, DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal wrote, “Taking cognizance of the AI-Generated Deep Fake video of actress @IAmRashmika Delhi Women Commission has issued a notice to Delhi Police. Till now no arrest has been made in this case. Strict action should be taken against the person making this fake video.”

Delhi Police, in turn, have directed Meta to provide the URL of the account from which the deepfake video of Mandanna originated. In addition, the city police have also sought information on users who allegedly shared the fake video on social media platforms. 

PM Modi’s comments also come as his cabinet has been seriously looking to solve the issue of deepfakes. The Minister of State (MoS) for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, has called deepfakes a ‘major violation of law’. 

Right after the deepfake video went viral, Chandrasekhar said that social media platforms were legally obligated to prevent the spread of misinformation and take down such content within 36 hours. 

“Deepfakes are a major violation and harm women in particular. Our Government takes the responsibility of safety & trust of all nagriks very, very seriously, and more so about our children and women who are targeted by such content,” MoS Chandrasekhar said.

Deepfakes, though not a new phenomenon, have surged in prominence given the ease with which non-technical people can create them using the widely available generative AI tools. The problem has been exacerbated by the availability of voice-generation tools, which can help malicious actors create hyper-realistic deepfake videos.

Most deepfakes are made on high-end computers that deploy power graphics cards to process and create replicas of original content. Deepfakes could potentially be used to spread false information and spur political or social chaos.