Delhi Police on Saturday claimed to have arrested the man responsible for creating the deep fake video of actress Rashmika Mandanna. The accused, identified as 24-year-old Eemani Naveen from Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur, wanted to boost followers on his Instagram handle.
The video went viral on social media last November, prompting demands from various circles for regulations on social media. In the deepfake video, Rashmika’s face was morphed on London-based influencer Zara Patel. An investigation into the case was underway from November 2023.
‘Created Deepfake to Boost Instagram Followers’
According to an India Today report, the accused Naveen revealed that he used to manage fan pages for three celebrities. To increase the followers of Rashmika’s fan page, he created and posted the deepfake video on October 13, 2023.
The trick bore fruit as the followers on Rashmika’s page increased from 90,000 to 1,08,000 within two weeks.
After the video garnered public attention, Naveen, in a state of panic, deleted the posts from the Instagram channel and also changed the channel’s name. He deleted relevant digital data from his devices.
“..We’ve arrested the main accused identified as Eemani Naveen, 24, from Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur. Laptop and mobile phone recovered from him. His deleted data is also being recovered…He used to run a fan page for a famous film actress (Rashmika Mandana) and also created two more fan pages for another two noted celebrities…To increase the number of followers, he created a deep fake video…Further probe underway,” DCP IFSO Unit Hemant Tiwari said.
Delhi police had earlier interrogated users who shared the deepfake video of the actress.
Amid a huge outcry, Rashmika’s case was followed by similar deepfake videos involving Alia Bhatt, Kajol, and Sachin Tendulkar.
After several similar videos went viral, the Centre issued an advisory to social media platforms, stressing the legal provisions covering deepfakes and the potential penalties linked to their creation and circulation.
In December 2023, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar met social media platforms to review progress made by them in tackling misinformation and deepfakes.
Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also said recently that notices were served to all social media companies directing them to take necessary steps to identify and remove disinformation from their platforms.
“Deepfake is a big issue for all of us. We recently issued notices to all the big social media forms, asking them to take steps to identify deepfakes, for removing those content. The social media platforms have responded. They are taking action. We have told them to be more aggressive in this work,” he said.
“Also, we must notice that the ‘Safe Harbour’ Clause that most of the social media platforms have been enjoying, doesn’t apply if the platforms do not take adequate steps to remove the deepfakes from their platforms,” the Union Minister added.
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