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.
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yes this is a strong case for legal https://t.co/wHJl7PSYPN
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) November 5, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">yes this is a strong case for legal https://t.co/wHJl7PSYPN
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) November 5, 2023yes this is a strong case for legal https://t.co/wHJl7PSYPN
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) November 5, 2023
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.
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The original video is of Zara Patel, a British-Indian girl with 415K followers on Instagram. She uploaded this video on Instagram on 9 October. (2/3) pic.twitter.com/MJwx8OldJU
— Abhishek (@AbhishekSay) November 5, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">The original video is of Zara Patel, a British-Indian girl with 415K followers on Instagram. She uploaded this video on Instagram on 9 October. (2/3) pic.twitter.com/MJwx8OldJU
— Abhishek (@AbhishekSay) November 5, 2023The original video is of Zara Patel, a British-Indian girl with 415K followers on Instagram. She uploaded this video on Instagram on 9 October. (2/3) pic.twitter.com/MJwx8OldJU
— Abhishek (@AbhishekSay) November 5, 2023
A visual comparison of the real and deepfake versions of the video revealed an important distinction. Patel's face was heavily featured in both interpretations at first. However, about one second into the video, the face takes a dramatic shift, changing into the visage of Rashmika Mandanna, who appeared in the AI-generated deepfake, lending credence to worries about the use of AI for deceitful purposes.
The incident is a sharp reminder of the importance of being vigilant when traversing the digital landscape, with deepfake technology offering substantial difficulties to the maintenance of truth and authenticity in the media and online platforms.
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