Deepfakes of Bollywood stars rattle India’s election

Deepfake videos featuring Bollywood stars criticizing Prime Minister Modi stir concerns over AI meddling in India’s ongoing general election

Two deepfake videos featuring prominent Bollywood actors have surfaced online, raising concerns about AI manipulation in India’s ongoing general election.

In the fake videos, Aamir Khan and Ranveer Singh, two of India’s A-list Bollywood actors, are seen criticizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and advocating for the opposition Congress party.

In a 30-second video, Aamir Khan and another 41-second clip of Ranveer Singh purportedly accuse Modi of failing to fulfill campaign promises and neglecting critical economic issues during his two terms as prime minister.

Both AI-generated videos conclude with the Congress election symbol and slogan: “Vote for Justice, Vote for Congress”. These two videos have collectively garnered more than half a million views on social media since last week.

Their widespread circulation underscores the potential influence of AI-generated content in India’s mammoth election, which began on Friday and will continue until June. AI and AI-generated fakes, or deepfakes, are increasingly being used in elections worldwide, including in the U.S., Pakistan, and Indonesia.

‘It has creativity for sure’

This year’s general election, in which Modi is expected to secure a rare third term, marks the first time AI is being employed.

Sujata Paul, a Congress spokesperson, shared actor Singh’s video with her 16,000 followers on X on April 17. By Saturday afternoon, her post had been reshared 2,900 times, liked 8,700 times, and received 438,000 views.

Paul acknowledged that the video was labeled “manipulated media” by X but opted not to delete it, stating that, while posting, she thought the person was a lookalike of Singh and “it has creativity for sure”.

Both actors have confirmed that the videos are fake. Facebook, X, and at least eight fact-checking websites have declared them altered or manipulated.

Khan was “alarmed” by the viral “fake” video, and Singh’s team is investigating the matter, according to a spokesperson for both actors. Singh wrote on X on Friday: “Beware of deepfakes, friends”.

Modi’s office and the IT head of his Bharatiya Janata Party did not respond to requests for comment.

Source: Newsroom