Creator Of Rashmika Mandanna Deepfake Video Arrested: Delhi Police

On January 20, Delhi Police announced the apprehension of an individual connected to a widely circulated deepfake video featuring actor Rashmika Mandanna on social media

An AI-facilitated deepfake video of actor Rashmika Mandanna went viral on social media last year. It sparked massive outrage and discussions on the internet amongst prominent figures, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who commented on the concerning issue of digital safety while many celebrities demanded legal action as well.

Creator Of Deepfake Video Of Rashmika Mandanna Arrested: Report

On December 20, Delhi Police tracked down four suspects who have been reportedly involved in the case of the deep fake video of Mandanna. Out of the four suspects, three have been tracked with the help of details provided by Meta, which owns major social media platforms used in the country, such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram. However, these four suspects turned out to be uploaders and not creators of the video that surfaced on the internet.

Since the FIR was registered on November 11 after the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) sent a letter to the city police, the investigation has been facing many obstacles as the accused creator has deleted the accounts, which has made it difficult to locate them, while the cyber experts also suspect it is likely that a VPN was used to upload the video, which has added another layer of difficulty in identifying and tracking the main perpetrator.

The Delhi Police IFSO (Internet Freedom and Safety for Online Users) sought help from Meta by sending them a letter, but the social media company has expressed its inability to provide details once the account is deleted.

Police have also sent notice to the site GoDaddy (an Internet domain registry public website) as a similar profile was made through the site and are now waiting for their reply to see if the website can seek some information in the case of such users creating deep fake videos.

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The hunt to nab down the main creator of the video is still ongoing.

Centre On The Deep Fake Video:

The Union Minister for Communications, Electronics, and IT has also issued a notice to all social media platforms to take the necessary steps to remove such misleading content and directed them to take steps to identify the creators.

The IT Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw on November 24 also issued letters to all social media users, reminding them of their responsibilities to weed out deepfakes spreading false information as mandated by Indian law.

Vaishnaw also addressed the issue, calling it a "threat to democracy" and ensuring a probe has been initiated, while many social media sites are replying to their issued notices and working on their guidelines.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also addressed the issue during the Diwali Minal programme at the BJP office, gathering the media and raising concerns, saying that there is a very large section of society that is facilitated by AI and other technologies that do not have parallel verification, which is an emerging crisis and has the potential to spread the fire of dissatisfaction.