New Delhi: A deepfake video of Rashmika Mandanna recently went viral, propelling her into the spotlight. After the video went viral, many celebs and fans of Rashmika called for legal action. On October 9, the original video was uploaded; it was then edited to include Rashmika Mandanna’s face in it. Meanwhile, British-Indian influencer Zara Patel, the real girl in the video, has responded, expressing concern for women's futures.
Zara Patel expressed her disappointment at the unfolding events and cautioned others to not accept everything they see online in response to the deepfake video.
To respond to the backlash, Patel posted a story on Instagram. She wrote, “Hi all, it has come to my attention that someone created a deepfake video using my body and a popular Bollywood actress’s face. I had no involvement with the deepfake video and I’m deeply disturbed and upset by what is happening."
Patel highlighted the pervasive danger posed by AI deepfakes and their potential for abuse. She wrote, “I worry about the future of women and girls who now have to fear even more about putting themselves on social media. Please take a step back and fact-check what you see on the internet. Not everything on the internet is real. I'm deeply upset by what is happening.”
Amitabh Bachchan raised attention to the deepfake video on Monday and called for legal action to be taken against the creators. Later, Rashmika also released a statement on the same.
Mrunal Thakur also showed her support for Rashmika. She strongly criticised the abuse of technology and urged people to speak out about the problem of fake editing and morphing of videos.
Deepfakes are made using artificial intelligence (AI) and readily available deepfake-making tools. Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, and Kristen Bell are just a few of the actors whose images have been used in deepfake videos that have gone viral on the internet.
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