Narayana Murthy Cautions Against Deepfake Video That Shows Him Endorsing Trading Apps

He refuted any involvement in such activities and urged the public not to believe the misinformation being spread via the deepfake video.

The government has launched deepfake crackdown in motion.

Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy On Wednesday denied having involvement about a circulating deepfake video impersonating him on social media, the media has reported. Murthy advised users not to be deceived by such fake content and encouraged reporting such incidents to relevant authorities. He addressed the issue on X, formerly Twitter, noting multiple clips falsely claiming his investment in automated trading applications. He refuted any involvement in such activities and urged the public not to believe the misinformation being spread via the deepfake video.

"PUBLIC WARNING ISSUED IN RESPECT OF FAKE VIDEOS AND POSTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND INTERNET ABOUT ME," Murthy posted on X, in all capital letters.

"In recent months, there have been several fake news items propagated via social media apps and on various webpages available on internet claiming that I have endorsed or invested in automated trading applications named BTC AI Evex, British Bitcoin Profit, Bit Lyte Sync, Immediate Momentum, Capitalix Ventures etc. The news items appear on fraudulent websites that masquerade as popular newspaper websites and some of them even publish fake interviews using deepfake pictures and videos. I categorically deny any endorsement, relation or association with these applications or websites. I caution the public to not fall prey to the content of these malicious sites and to the products or services they are trying to sell to you. Please report any such instances to the concerned regulatory authorities," he posted.

PUBLIC WARNING ISSUED IN RESPECT OF FAKE VIDEOS AND POSTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND INTERNET ABOUT ME

— Narayana Murthy (@Infosys_nmurthy) December 14, 2023

This follows shortly after veteran industrialist and former Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata issued a cautionary notice regarding the misuse of his name on social media to falsely promote investments as "risk-free" and guaranteed. On Instagram, Tata exposed a post by a user named "Sona Agrawal", who used a fabricated interview video to recommend investments.

These cautionary notes from eminent people come at a time when the government has launched deepfake crackdown in motion. The Centre, earlier this month, held a meeting with social media platforms to "assess" the progress they have made in addressing the concerning issue of deepfakes in the country. While many platforms have shown a clear understanding of what is the right thing to do and are adapting quickly, some platforms have shown lethargy, a recent report by news agency PTI said.