Actress Rashmika Mandanna has responded to a widely circulated manipulated video of herself that has gone viral on social media, describing it as "extremely scaring." She emphasized the need for collective action to address this issue urgently, to prevent others from falling victim to such identity theft.
Taking a firm stance against the viral deepfake video featuring her, Rashmika expressed her concerns in a heartfelt social media post. She wrote, "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."
"Today, as a woman and as an actor, I am thankful for my family, friends and well wishers who are my protection and support system. But if this happened to me when I was in school or college, I genuinely can’t imagine how could I ever tackle this. We need to address this as a community and with urgency before more of us are affected by such identity theft," she further added.
Earlier in the day, renowned actor Amitabh Bachchan extended his support to his 'Goodbye' co-star Rashmika and called for legal action in response to the incident. He firmly stated, "Yes, this is a strong case."
The need for a legal and regulatory framework to address deepfake technology in India was also emphasized by Amitabh Bachchan. He highlighted the misuse of the video on Instagram, urging the necessity for immediate action to combat this issue. A user named Abhishek shared the manipulated video and the "actual" video side by side on social media.
On work-front, Rashmika is currently involved in projects such as 'Animal' and 'Pushpa 2: The Rule,' showcasing her busy schedule in the entertainment industry. The incident has shed light on the pressing need to address deepfake videos and their potential harm, underscoring the importance of safeguarding individuals' online identities and privacy.
What is Deepfake?
Deepfakes represent a form of synthetic media where AI technology is employed to replace the likeness of an individual in an existing image or video with that of another person. Although the concept of falsifying content is not new, deepfakes harness advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence methods to manipulate or generate visual and auditory content, thereby possessing a significant potential to deceive.
The detection of deepfakes often hinges on the identification of unnatural facial expressions or movements, such as excessive or inadequate blinking, or movements that appear rigid and jerky. A reliable indicator of the authenticity of a video is the scrutiny of the eyes. Deepfake videos often exhibit eyes that are either blurred or unfocused, or eyes that do not align with the individual's head movements.
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