Sachin Tendulkar's Deepfake Video Posted from IP Address Traced to the Philippines: Report

Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar had recently alerted his followers on social media to not fall for a deepfake video of his that showed him promoting a gaming app that helps people earn money. The Mumbai Police is now investigating the case with reports claiming the IP address used to upload the fake video has been traced to the Philippines.

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The Mumbai Police had registered an FIR following Tendulkar’s post on X (formerly Twitter) through which he urged the concerned authorities to take appropriate action.

In the deepfake video, Tendulkar’s face and voice were manipulated to claim his daughter had won money by playing the gaming app.

“Based on technical investigation of the video, we found that it was uploaded from an IP address in the Philippines. We are however checking if a VPN was used in order to mask the actual location from where the video was uploaded,” The Indian Express quoted a police officer as saying.

Earlier in January, Tendulkar, international cricket’s most prolific run-getter, had talked about the ‘misuse of technology’ and requested followers to report those indulging in creating deepfake videos.

“These videos are fake. It is disturbing to see rampant misuse of technology. Request everyone to report videos, ads & apps like these in large numbers. Social media platforms need to be alert and responsive to complaints. Swift action from their end is crucial to stopping the spread of misinformation and fake news. @GoI_MeitY, @Rajeev_GoI and @MahaCyber1,” Tendulkar posted.

Responding to Tendulkar’s plea, Union Minister of Electronics and Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar had said the government will be notifying ‘tighter rules’ to ensure platforms prevent the promotion of such deepfake videos.

#DeepFakes and misinformation powered by #AI are a threat to Safety&Trust of Indian users and represents harm & legal violation that platforms hv to prevent and take down,” Chandrasekhar had posted.

“Recent Advisory by @GoI_MeitY requires platforms to comply wth this 100%. We will be shortly notifying tighter rules under IT Act to ensure compliance by platforms,” he added.

The police are also verifying the mail attached to it.

“We have sent the mail address to Hotmail to find out who used it. However, the process takes time so we are awaiting a response,” the officer was quoted as saying.