Hyderabad: A widely shared video purportedly showing Indian actress Rashmika Mandanna entering a lift has been found out to be a deepfake, raising concerns about the availability of fraudulent information on social media platforms. While the video first appeared to be incredibly convincing to ordinary social media users, closer examination exposes clear evidence of manipulation. The scary revelation has raised major concerns over the use of technology, especially for people in the public eye, with actor Amitabh Bachchan retweeting the original and fake videos demanding legal action.
Millions of people have watched this deepfake video. An Indian journalist, Abhishek Kumar, took on the challenge of identifying the video's origins and, in response to the findings, urged for the creation of new legal and regulatory frameworks to address the spread of fraudulent content on the internet. Retweeting it, Amitabh wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter): "yes this is a strong case for legal."
The video in question was first shared on Instagram on October 8 by a lady by the name Zara Patel. There is no evidence linking Patel to the fabrication of the deepfake video at this time. It's unclear who created the misleading version or what motivated them. Nonetheless, this instance highlighted a rising problem of bogus videos starring celebrities from a variety of professions, which perpetuate misleading narratives and may cause harm.