IT Minister warns social media platforms after Rashmika Mandanna deepfake video goes viral

IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has today issued a stern warning to social media platforms, emphasising their legal obligations in fighting deepfakes and all other forms of misinformation. The trigger for his message was the shocking deepfake video of actress Rashmika Mandanna that went viral. Originally, the video featured Zara Patel, a British-Indian influencer, but it had been manipulated to replace her face with that of Rashmika Mandanna using deepfake technology.

Legal impacts for non-compliance of rules

In a tweet, Chandrasekhar stated, "PM @narendramodi ji's Govt is committed to ensuring Safety and Trust of all Digital Nagriks using Internet" and outlined the legal responsibilities that social media platforms have to fulfil as per the IT rules.

Under IT rules set in April 2023, these platforms must prevent the spread of misinformation by users and promptly remove such content when reported by users or the government.

Negligence to comply with these rules may lead to legal action as provided in the Indian Penal Code, the Minister warned. He stressed that deepfakes, which involve using AI to alter photos or videos, have become a worrying source of misinformation and must be addressed by these platforms. Deepfakes have gained fame as a tool for generating fake viral content, and the incident involving Zara Patel and Rashmika Mandanna highlights the potential harm they can cause.

Zara Patel, a famous Instagram influencer with a large following, shared a video last month where she is seen entering an elevator dressed in black. To the surprise of her audience, her face had changed to that of Rashmika Mandanna when she entered the lift.

Responding to the viral deepfake video, Rashmika Mandanna said, "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 further emphasised.