'I am getting lot of hate': Zara Patel, whose video was used for Rashmika Mandanna deepfake

The original video was shared by Zara Patel in October.

Zara Patel, the British-Indian influencer whose video was used to create a viral deepfake of actor Rashmika Mandanna said that she was “deeply disturbed” by the incident. In a statement that she shared on Instagram, Patel mentioned that she had no part in the creation of the deepfake.

Now, in a conversation with The Quint, Patel, who has been an influencer since 2021, detailed about the scary experience. “I found out about Rashmika’s face being morphed on mine on November 5, when a lot of people started tagging me. I did not even know who the actress is, so I wasn’t sure what was going on. I was scared to see someone else’s face on my video,” she said.

"I was really scared. I reported the video to Instagram, but there is no section where you can report a "deepfake". I tried to report it as fraud, but technically this is not a fraud. I don’t know how Instagram is going to deal with this, because there are other bigger influencers facing similar problems, where their bodies are being digitally manipulated on someone else's videos. I have seen a lot of women influencers based in the US, who have posted about deepfake videos about them. I don't know how to go about it, so I have sought counsel from other people who have gone through this."

Patel also claimed that she is being subjected to a lot of hate after the incident. "I did not expect this to blow up so much. People are sending this to me and saying, 'hey, is this you?' I am also being subjected to a lot of harsh comments. The tough part is that I am a regular person, and the video has such a popular actor's face on it. People are very confused as to who did what. I just want to say - I don't know how to use AI tools, so I have nothing to do with this."

She also told the news outlet about an Instagram page she discovered that creates deepfake videos. "It’s one of those pages that create content by copying videos from actors' accounts. I came across the page, and suddenly this video went viral." However, the account seems to have been deleted.

The influencer also cautioned other content creators to be careful and always be on the lookout.  "Check your comments to see if other people are posting your content. It’s a scary world we live in, where people can misuse your body and your voice. We need more regulations from the government on this."

"I wish women would feel more safe putting themselves and their content out there,” she added.

Meanwhile, the original video was shared by Patel in October. In the clip, she was seen entering an elevator. However, the deepfake version was created by morphing Mandanna’s face on Patel’s body.

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A post shared by Zara Patel (@zaarapatellll)

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On Monday, the actor also issued a statement and tagged the cyber police in her tweet. “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 wrote.