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In fake videos that have gone viral online, two of India’s A-list Bollywood actors are seen criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asking people to vote for the opposition Congress party in the country’s ongoing general elections.
In two separate videos, actors Aamir Khan and Ranveer Singh are purportedly seen saying that Mr Modi failed to keep campaign promises and address critical economic issues during his two terms as prime minister.
Both AI-generated videos end with the Congress election symbol and slogan: “Vote for Justice, Vote for Congress.” The two videos have been viewed on social media more than half a million times since last week, a Reuters review shows.
Their spread underlines the potential role such AI (artificial intelligence)-generated content can play in the mammoth Indian elections that started last Friday and will continue until June.
AI and AI-generated fakes, or deepfakes, are being increasingly used in elections elsewhere in the world, including the United States, Pakistan and Indonesia.
Campaigning in India has long focused on door-to-door outreach and public rallies, but extensive use of WhatsApp and Facebook as campaigning tools started in 2019. This year’s general elections – in which Mr Modi is expected to secure a rare third term – is the first in which AI is being used.
Congress spokesperson Sujata Paul shared Ranveer’s video with her 16,000 followers on X on April 17. By April 19, her post had been re-shared 2,900 times, liked 8,700 times and received 438,000 views.
Ms Sujata told Reuters that she was aware the video was marked “manipulated media” by X, but she did not want to delete it as, while posting, she thought the person was a lookalike of the actor and “it has creativity for sure”.
The post was no longer visible on X on April 20, hours after Reuters sent a request for comment to Congress’ head of social media cell, who did not respond.
Both actors have said the videos are fake. Facebook, X and at least eight fact-checking websites have said they are altered or manipulated, which the Reuters digital verification unit has also confirmed.
Reuters could not ascertain who created the videos.
Aamir was “alarmed” by the viral fake video and Ranveer’s team was looking into the matter, according to a spokesperson for both actors. Ranveer wrote on X on Friday: “Beware of deepfakes, friends”.
Mr Modi’s office and the IT head of his Bharatiya Janata Party did not respond to requests for comment.
Nearly 900 million people in India (64 per cent of the population) have access to the Internet and a survey conducted by research organisation Esya Centre and the Indian Institute of Management business school showed an average Indian spends more than three hours a day on social media. The country has nearly one billion voters.
The videos have sparked a police investigation with Aamir registering a case in Mumbai against unnamed persons on April 17 for alleged impersonation and cheating – as part of the creation of a fake video.
On Tuesday, the Maharashtra police’s cyber cell registered a first information report (FIR) against an X user for allegedly uploading the Ranveer deepfake video.
The FIR was registered on a complaint by the actor’s father Jagjit Singh Bhavnani against the user @sujataindia1st, a police officer told the Hindustan Times.
In this year’s elections, politicians are using AI in other ways.
In south India, Congress leader Vijay Vasanth’s spokesperson said his team created a two-minute video clip using AI that was shared on social media platforms showing his deceased politician father H. Vasanthakumar seeking votes for him.
The late politician is seen saying “even though my body left you all, my soul is still around”.
In videos posted on YouTube by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), Samata, an AI-generated anchor dressed in a traditional sari and speaking in a style that mimics regular news channels, criticises the ruling party in West Bengal.
In one clip, the anchor alleges the party does not care about the environment, as many water bodies have vanished due to illegal construction.
A spokesperson for the ruling party denied the allegation and said the state government has ensured no such construction is taking place. The CPM did not respond to requests for comment.
Reuters
