The main accused in the viral deepfake video of famous actress Rashmika Mandanna has been arrested. This information was given by DCP Hemant Tiwari of Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operation (IFSO).
Few months ago, a fake video of actress Rashmika had surfaced, which was made with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI). After the video surfaced, Rashmika issued a statement calling it extremely scary and people expressed concern and demanded action.
The accused was arrested from Andhra Pradesh by the IFSO unit of the Special Cell after raids in several states. An FIR has been registered in the case under sections 465 (forgery) and 469 (forgery intended to cause harm to reputation) of the Indian Penal Code. Sections 66C and 66E of the Information Technology Act have also been imposed in this.
The legal action followed a complaint by the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), which had taken suo motu cognizance of the ‘deepfake’ video involving the actress. Former DCW chief Swati Maliwal had written on Twitter, “Following our notice, Delhi Police has registered an FIR in the Rashmika Mandanna fake video case. The accused will be arrested soon.”
What is Deepfake ?
Deepfake is a type of synthetic media that uses artificial intelligence to manipulate or generate visual and audio content, often with a malicious motive, to appear authentic. In this a video of a person in which their face or body has been digitally altered so that they appear to be someone else, typically used maliciously or to spread false information. The committee hearing on worldwide threats cited deepfakes as a growing concern.