Aamir Khan, the latest Bollywood actor targeted by deepfakes

Indian police have filed a case against an unidentified person after a deep fake video of Bollywood actor Aamir Khanshowing him promoting a political party, appeared on social networks.

A 27-second video clip that went viral on social media showed Khan urging voters to be careful of jumle vaade, a Hindi word that translates to empty promises, in the run-up to India's general elections which begin on April 19. In another video, the actor praises sections of a party's manifesto for India's upcoming elections.

THE the videos were analyzed by an Indian fact-checking site AltNews who discovered that they had been edited using artificial intelligence technology with extracts from Satyamev Jayatea show hosted by Aamir Khan between 2012 and 2014.

A spokesperson for Khan said on Tuesday that the actor had reported the clips to the relevant authorities and had also filed a complaint with the cybercrime cell of the Mumbai Police after discovering the deepfake videos.

We would like to clarify that Mr. Aamir Khan has never supported any political party in his 35-year career, the spokesperson said, reported the Press Trust of India.

He has dedicated his efforts to raising awareness through the Electoral Commission's public awareness campaigns in many past elections.

We are alarmed by the recent viral video alleging that Aamir Khan is promoting a particular political party. He would like to point out that it is a fake video and completely false. He reported the matter to various authorities related to this issue, including filing an FIR with the Cyber ​​Crime Cell of the Mumbai Police, the statement added.

On Wednesday, police in the western city of Mumbai, where Khan resides, registered a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including impersonation, cheating and provisions of the Act. information technologies.

It's not the first deepfake video hit an Indian celebrity. Several Bollywood actors like Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt, Rashmika Mandanna, as well as cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar have been victims of deepfakes.

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Indian IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced in November 2023 that notices had been sent to all social media companies, asking them to take necessary steps to identify and remove misinformation, particularly deepfakes, from their platforms.

Deepfakes use AI technology to digitally alter a person's image. Deepfakes can be audio, video and image based.

Deepfake is a big problem for all of us. We recently issued notices to all major social media companies, asking them to take steps to identify deepfakes and remove such content. Social media platforms reacted. They act. We told them to be more aggressive in this work, Vaishnaw said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke about the growing threat of deepfakes. In December 2023, he said: “These videos appear very real and, therefore, we must be very careful before believing in the authenticity of any video or image. India is emphasizing a global framework for AI.

The lack of regulation or clear laws regarding deepfakes has made it more difficult for Indian police to control their spread. Police are prosecuting because of the effects of the deepfake and not because it is a deepfake itself, said Anushka Jain, a policy researcher at the Goa-based Digital Futures Lab. Al Jazeera.

Social media giants Meta and Google have pledged to combat manipulated content by removing or labeling posts that could be misleading. Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said the manipulation is not apparent and could be misleading, particularly in the case of video content.

YouTube owner Google said the platform requires creators to disclose edited or synthetic content that is realistic, including using AI tools, and to properly inform viewers about that content through labels. .

Registered Indians will begin voting in seven phases, from April 19 to June 1. The electoral process, which lasted 44 days, will end with the announcement of the results on June 4.