The Delhi Police on Saturday claimed to have arrested the main culprit behind actor Rashmika Mandanna’s deepfake that went viral. In the deepfake, Rashmika’s face was superimposed on a video of British influencer Zara Patel.

Since November, the investigation into the Rashmika case has been ongoing as this case was the first followed by similar deepfake videos involving Alia Bhatt, Kajol, Sachin Tendulkar. Delhi Police interrogated several social media users who shared Rashmika’s deepfake but was yet to reach the person who made it.

Recently, a gaming app morphed a video of Sachin Tendulkar and launched a false promotional campaign. Mumbai Cyber Police registered an FIR against the app after Sachin took to X and clarified that the video of him urging his followers to play games on that particular app was false. “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,” Sachin wrote on X.

Stringent rules to fight deepfake

Union minister of state for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the government is in the process of coming up with tighter rules under the Information Technology Act to ensure compliance by platforms.

The minister said deepfakes and misinformation were becoming a problematic issue and the government would keep an eye on the remedial measures taken by the platforms.