Rashmika Mandanna's viral video is an AI deepfake, Union Minister cites IT rules

A seemingly innocuous video of actor Rashmika Mandanna entering an elevator has ignited a firestorm of controversy. What initially appears as a genuine moment is, in fact, a deepfake - a sophisticated manipulation that prompted Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar to cite the legal obligations of social media platforms and IT rules of the country pertaining to digital deception.

The video in question has spread like wildfire, amassing millions of views on X. Abhishek Kumar, a factcheck journalist with AltNews, revealed the veracity of the video - it was not Mandanna at all in the clip. He also called for the implementation of new legal and regulatory measures to combat the proliferation of deepfakes in the digital sphere in his thread as well.

"There is an urgent need for a legal and regulatory framework to deal with deepfakes in India. You might have seen this viral video of actress Rashmika Mandanna on Instagram. But wait, this is a deepfake video of Zara Patel," he tweeted.

The accompanying thread provided evidence, including the original video of Zara Patel, a British-Indian girl with a substantial Instagram following. The video was initially shared on October 9.

Upon careful examination, one can discern telltale signs of the deepfake's artificiality. At the 1-second mark, as Mandanna (the deepfake) enters the elevator, a sudden, seamless transition occurs, transforming her face from that of Zara Patel to that of the ‘Animal’ actor.

The original video is of Zara Patel, a British-Indian girl with 415K followers on Instagram. She uploaded this video on Instagram on 9 October. (2/3) pic.twitter.com/MJwx8OldJU

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— Abhishek (@AbhishekSay) November 5, 2023

“From a deepfake POV, the viral video is perfect enough for ordinary social media users to fall for it. But if you watch the video carefully, you can see at (0:01) that when Rashmika (deepfake) was entering the lift, suddenly her face changes from the other girl to Rashmika,” Kumar explained.

Electronics and Technology Minister Chandrasekhar said that deepfakes are "dangerous" and platforms must deal with this sternly and have regulations in place.

PM @narendramodi ji's Govt is committed to ensuring Safety and Trust of all DigitalNagriks using Internet

Under the IT rules notified in April, 2023 - it is a legal obligation for platforms to

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ensure no misinformation is posted by any user AND

ensure that when reported by… https://t.co/IlLlKEOjtd

— Rajeev Chandrasekhar (@Rajeev_GoI) November 6, 2023

Patel, who appears in the original video or Mandanna seem to have no involvement in the creation of the deepfake version. It is unclear why the video came into circulation.

Veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan lent his support to Kumar's investigation by retweeting the thread and said it's a strong legal case.

yes this is a strong case for legal https://t.co/wHJl7PSYPN

— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) November 5, 2023

With AI-assisted tech enabling everyone to create fake images, even mundane deceptions are corroding our ability to trust the content our eyes consume.