The Maharashtra police’s cyber cell has filed an FIR against an X user (formerly Twitter) for allegedly uploading a ‘deepfake’ or manipulated video featuring actor Ranveer Singh, wherein he appeared to be making a political appeal to vote for the Congress, an official disclosed.
What are Deepfake Videos?
Deepfake videos are those that have been convincingly altered to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said.
FIR
The First Information Report (FIR) was lodged based on a complaint filed by the actor’s father, Jugjeet Singh Bhavnani, against the user @sujataindia1st, the official confirmed.
According to the complaint, Ranveer Singh had given an interview to the media during his visit to Varanasi to promote a fashion show, wherein he had praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The actor’s statement, as per the FIR, was, “it is Modi ji’s purpose and goal to celebrate our rich culture, heritage, history, and legacy because we are moving ahead towards modernity very fast but we should never forget our roots, our cultural heritage.”
However, the FIR states that the user @sujataindia1st created a deepfake video wherein the actor is heard saying, “it is Modi ji’s purpose and goal to celebrate our painful life, fear, and unemployment because we are moving ahead towards injustice but we should never stop asking for our development and justice, vote for justice, vote for Congress.”
The actor’s father asserted in the complaint that the actor never made such statements, and he does not have any affiliation with any political party. The FIR has been filed under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 417 (cheating), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), and 469 (forgery for the purpose of harming reputation), along with provisions of the Information Technology Act, the official informed.
Further investigation into the matter is ongoing, stated the police.
Recently, the city police also registered an FIR against an unidentified individual in connection with a similar deepfake video featuring Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, where he was purportedly seen endorsing a political party.
