(This article is authored by Alar)

In the ever-evolving landscape of the digital world, a sinister trend has emerged, shaking the foundations of online trust. Deep fake technology, a menacing creation of artificial intelligence, has recently targeted leading actress Rashmika Mandanna, morphing her face into a swimsuit video of an Instagram model. This alarming incident has sparked a wave of concern, urging India's digital community to confront the issue head-on.

The story unfolded when a vigilant user on X, revealed the shocking truth behind the manipulated video, prompting Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan to demand robust legal action against such deceptive practices. In an unprecedented move, Rashmika Mandanna herself joined the outcry, calling upon both the police and society to take a stand against these digital impostors.

She penned, "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."

Amidst the growing chaos, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar stepped forward, reminding social media platforms of their legal obligations under the IT rules enacted in April of the current year.  Chandrasekhar's post underscored the government's unwavering commitment to ensuring the safety and trust of all digital citizens in the vast realm of the internet.

He emphasized that under the April 2023 IT rules, platforms are legally obligated to prevent the dissemination of misinformation. Moreover, they must swiftly remove any reported misinformation within 36 hours. Failure to comply would invoke Rule 7, allowing aggrieved individuals to take platforms to court under the provisions of the IPC.

The rise of deep fakes, a sophisticated and insidious form of misinformation, has added a new layer of complexity to the battle for online integrity. As social media platforms grapple with this challenge, the call for a #SafeTrustedInternet and #AccountableDigitalIndia reverberates across the platform.

PM @narendramodi ji's Govt is committed to ensuring Safety and Trust of all DigitalNagriks using Internet

Under the IT rules notified in April, 2023 - it is a legal obligation for platforms to

➡️ensure no misinformation is posted by any user AND

➡️ensure that when reported by… https://t.co/IlLlKEOjtd

— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@Rajeev_GoI) November 6, 2023

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.…

— Rashmika Mandanna (@iamRashmika) November 6, 2023