Rashmika Mandanna's deepfake video goes viral, IT Minister issues warning

The video shows a woman wearing a black outfit entering a lift. However, her face changes to that of the actor Rashmika Mandanna in the deepfake video

A seemingly run-of-the-mill video of entering an elevator has led to a huge fracas over the abuses of technology. A deepfake video of Rashmika Mandanna circulating on social media prompted Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar to warn social media platforms to deal sternly with such misinformation. 

The video shows a woman wearing a black outfit entering a lift. However, her face changes to that of the actor in the deepfake video. The video originally featured Zara Patel, a British-Indian influencer. The video was initially shared on October 9.

Abhishek Kumar, a factcheck journalist with AltNews, confirmed that it was not Mandanna in the clip. In a post on X, he said, "There is an urgent need for a legal and regulatory framework to deal with deepfakes in India. You might have seen this viral video of actress Rashmika Mandanna on Instagram. But wait, this is a deepfake video of Zara Patel".

What are Deepfakes?

Deepfakes use AI technology to generate visual and audio data, which can be used to create realistic videos of somebody doing, and saying things they have not done or said. Deepfake programs generally use "Generative Adversarial Networks" to generate data that is virtually indistinguishable from the original and easily used for manipulation or misinformation.

IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar's warning

On X, formerly Twitter, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar stated that Under the IT rules notified in April 2023, it is a legal obligation by platforms to remove any misinformation when reported by any user or government. "Deep fakes are the latest and even more dangerous and damaging form of misinformation and need to be dealt with by platforms," Chandrasekhar said. Under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code, platforms can be taken to court by the aggrieved person, if platforms do not comply with the IT Rules, he added.

Rashmika Mandanna's reaction to the deepfake video

In a statement posted on X, Rashmika Mandanna said that the issue must be addressed "with urgency before more of us are affected by such identity theft". "I feel really hurt to share this and have to talk about the deepfake video of me being spread online. 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. Today, as a woman and as an actor, I am thankful for my family, friends, and well-wishers who are my protection and support system. But if this happened to me when I was in school or college, I genuinely can't imagine how could I ever tackle this. We need to address this as a community and with urgency before more of us are affected by such identity theft," she wrote.

Actor Amitabh Bachchan also reposted the deepfake video of Rashmika Mandanna and demanded legal action.