Alia Bhatt falls prey to deepfake video after Rashmika, Katrina and Kajol
Repeated instances of deepfake videos have sparked an outrage over misuse of technology and absence of adequate legal safeguards
Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged concerns over the threat being posed by deepfake videos, Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt has joined the list of celebrities who have fallen prey to the technology.
Deepfakes of several celebrities - including Rashmika Mandanna, Kajol, Katrina Kaif and Sara Tendulkar - had earlier surfaced on the internet, sparking concerns over the misuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
In the latest deepfake video, Alia’s face is edited over a different woman using artificial intelligence and the latter can be seen sitting on the bed. The woman is dressed in a blue floral two-piece outfit while she makes some gestures towards the camera.
This comes close on the heels of a deepfake video of Bollywood actress Kajol sparking outrage on social media. In the clip, a woman with Kajol’s face photoshopped on her body could be seen changing clothes on camera. The video is actually of a British social media influencer who originally shared the clip on TikTok. Similarly, Katrina Kaif’s action sequence from Tiger-3, where she combatted another woman in a towel, was also morphed in her deepfake.
‘Animal’ actress Rashmika Mandanna was the first to fall prey to the deepfake menace. Her video showed a woman dressed in a black workout onesie stepping into an elevator. Once she enters it, she looks at the camera and smiles. In her case, the video was initially shared by British Indian influencer Zara Patel on Instagram.
Meanwhile, there has been a widespread outcry about the misuse of technology and the absence of adequate legal safeguards that have allowed this harmful use of artificial intelligence (AI) to thrive.
Taking serious note of the matter, the Centre has said that the creation and circulation of deepfakes carry a strong penalty of ₹1 lakh and three years in jail. Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar last week said that the Centre will soon appoint an officer to take appropriate action against such content.
Chandrasekhar said that the existing laws and rules have clear provisions to deal with deepfakes. He said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) will develop a website on which users can flag their concerns about IT rule violations. “Meity will assist users to notify it about violation of IT rules and assist them in filing a First Information Report or FIR,” said the Union minister.
