In an alarming incident that underscores the misuse of artificial intelligence to propagate misinformation, a deepfake video featuring actress Rashmika Mandanna has gained widespread attention on the internet. The actress, known for her role in the film ‘Pushpa’, expressed her disappointment with the viral fake video and highlighted the possible misuse of technology to tarnish someone’s image.
The AI-generated video, which has since gone viral, initially appears to show Rashmika Mandanna wearing a black dress and entering an elevator. However, the video is a product of artificial intelligence technology known as deepfake and features another woman. The spread of deepfake content has sparked reactions from several prominent figures, including top actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
Rashmika Mandanna, responding to the viral deepfake video, described it as “extremely scary” and raised concerns about the misuse of technology. Through her Instagram account, she shared her thoughts, expressing that she felt hurt to see the video, which featured a woman dressed in black workout attire inside an elevator. The woman’s face had been altered using artificial intelligence to resemble Rashmika Mandanna.
The actress, in her heartfelt Instagram post, said, “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 I could ever tackle this. We need to address this as a community and with urgency before more of us are affected by such identity.”
Rashmika Mandanna continued, “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.” She emphasized the urgent need to address this issue collectively to protect individuals from the potential harm caused by deepfake technology.
Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan also responded to the deepfake video and stressed the need for legal action. He was among the first to react when a fact-checker posted the deepfake clip alongside the original video of a British-Indian social media personality, Zara Patel. Bachchan demanded an urgent establishment of a legal and regulatory framework to address the issue of deepfakes in India.
Deepfake technology uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to create visual and audio content that can mislead viewers. It superimposes one person’s characteristics onto another media file in a way that makes it appear genuine. Due to its potential to defame individuals or spread misinformation, the technology is prohibited on various platforms.
