Days after Bollywood actress Rashmika Mandanna became victim of a deepfake incident, rumoured couple Sara Tendulkar and Shubman Gill fell prey to the technology. On Wednesday, a picture of Sara and Shubman went viral on the internet. In the picture, Sara can be seen hugging the star Indian cricketer as they pose for a picture.
However, it turned out to be a morphed image. The original picture has the image of Sara with her brother Arjun Tendulkar which the former posted on Instagram on her brother’s birthday.
Government issues guidelines to tackle deepfake misuse
The emergence of deepfake technology has raised a lot of concerns among people, especially women. And therefore, it is important to identify these kinds of malicious AI-generated images and videos.
The Central government on Tuesday issued guidelines to social media companies to address the identification and removal of deepfake videos.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has mandated that social media companies should take swift action within 36 hours to remove the deepfake videos.
Failing to do so may result in legal action under Rule 7 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules of 2021.
The guidelines issued to social media companies include the following key points:
- Vigilance and Identification: Companies are urged to exercise appropriate caution and implement measures to identify false information and deepfake content.
- Timely Action: Swift action should be taken within the specified time frame as prescribed by the IT Rules of 2021.
- User Responsibility: Users are explicitly instructed not to host or promote any misleading or deepfake content.
- Reporting Mechanism: Any such content reported by users should be promptly removed within 36 hours.
- Compliance and Accountability: Social media intermediaries are reminded that failure to operate in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act and Rules may result in punitive action under Rule 7 of the IT Rules of 2021. Such non-compliance could also expose the organization to the loss of protections under Section 79(1) of the Information Technology Act of 2000.
What is deepfake?
Deepfake is a digital method to create synthetic media through artificial intelligence (AI). Deepfakes involve the manipulation of audio, video, or images to make it appear as though a person is saying or doing something they never did.
Spotting deepfakes can be challenging because they use advanced techniques to create realistic-looking content. However, there are still a few ways to identify deepfake content.
- Pay attention to facial and vocal inconsistencies
- Examine the video or image for visual artifacts that might not appear in genuine footage.
- Verify the source of the video or image.
- Consider the context in which the content is presented. If the content seems too sensational, it might be a deepfake.
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