New Delhi: An FIR has been registered against a social media handle for promoting the deepfake video of Ranveer Singh, the actor’s spokesperson said on Monday. Last week, a video of Singh went viral on the internet in which the actor could be seen voicing his political opinion. The video is a snippet from an original interview, which seems to have been edited using artificial intelligence technology, the actor gave when he was in Varanasi for a fashion show.

According to the spokesperson, Singh has filed a police complaint and the FIR has been lodged for further investigation by the Cyber Crime Cell. “We have filed the police complaint and FIR has been lodged against the handle promoting the AI-generated deepfake video of Mr Ranveer Singh,” the spokesperson for the actor said in a statement.

Soon after the video went viral, the actor warned the audience on X by writing, “Deepfake se bacho dostonnnn (Beware of deepfake, friends)”Before Singh, a similar AI-edited clip of superstar Aamir Khan went viral on social media.

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Last year, a viral deepfake video of Rashmika Mandanna left the actor’s friends, family and fans aghast, with the Animal (2023) actor calling it “extremely scary.” That monster has returned.

Recently, deepfake videos featuring actors Aamir Khan and Ranveer Singh, promoting political parties were circulated. Clearing the air, both actors swiftly reacted, Khan declaring it “fake and untrue” and Singh taking to X to warn his fans, “Deepfake se bacho dostonnnn.” Khan and Singh have filed FIRs.

Despite PM Narendra Modi consistently cautioning citizens against the threat, the misuse of the technology and stars’ fan following to influence political opinion is worrying. We speak to experts on the steps that could be taken to curb the menace.

“Aamir Khan’s video looks super realistic and properly synchronized. That’s the level of perfection we have reached,” says cybercrime investigator Ritesh Bhatia, who shares that he predicted the rise of deepfakes four years ago.

“Artificial intelligence (AI) is available to everyone, so, with just one photo, you can make anyone sing, dance or do anything. That’s why it’s not easy to differentiate between real and fake.”

Not everyone is equipped to distinguish between real and fake, or abreast of the latest technological tools of manipulation. And that often results in a heavy price to pay. Image consultant Tina Singh Walia says, “It can be highly detrimental to a celebrity’s public image as the masses will be divided on this. It will adversely impact their fan following and future.”

Walia adds, “A celebrity like Ranveer Singh has to strive hard to build a powerful and positive personal brand narrative that can be reversed in mere seconds by such acts of foul play. It then becomes his priority to issue a public statement.”

Bhatia suggests using the P.O.V. method to judge if something is fake. “P is for pause to think it might be fake, O to show zero trust on what you see on the internet and V is for verify,” he says, adding, “Victims need to talk about it and media needs to report it otherwise this all is going to become normal.”

Nearly two months after a TV serial writer died by suicide due to alleged harassment by loan sharks of mobile-based lending applications, his family has been receiving threats over loans which he either never took or had repaid in full.

The Charkop police have now registered an FIR in the matter and are probing the case.

Writer Abhishek Makwana, 37, who was once associated with the popular TV show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his flat in Kandivali on November 27 last year.

The deceased’s brother, Jenis Makwana (right), in a complaint registered with the Charkop police said that the instant loan application agents are now harassing and threatening his family members and friends for repayment of loans.

After Makwana’s death, his family had alleged that he died by suicide because of the constant harassment and blackmail by the recovery agents of these mobile-based lending applications, and that they stole information from his phones and were now using that data for threatening his relatives and friends.

In his FIR, Jenis said that after Makwana’s death, he received a call from someone on his brother’s phone. The caller asked for Makwana, he said. Jenis told the caller that his brother had died, but the caller got abusive and said that he was calling in connection with the loan Makwana had taken from them and wasn’t repaying. Jenis then asked the caller for the loan details and their office address. The caller refused to provide any details, and continued abusing him. He also threatened to kill him and his family if they didn’t repay the loan.

Jenis got frightened and he disconnected the call. Later, he started receiving a barrage of calls from several unknown numbers. The callers would introduce themselves as agents of different easy loan applications and ask for repayment of loans that his brother had allegedly taken from them. Jenis, who said he was not aware of his brother’s financial transactions, urged them to give him some time to understand the issue, but the callers wouldn’t listen, the FIR said.

Soon, other members of the family, their relatives and Makwana’s friends also started getting abusive and threatening calls. This continued until the first week of January.

On January 2, Jenis checked Makwana’s e-mails for clues to his financial transactions. He found that on a single day, Makwana had received around 40-45 small loans from different app-based applications – loans which he had never asked for.

According to Jenis, he came to know that his brother had indeed taken loans but those were of small amounts and that he had repaid them. However, several loan amounts were transferred to his bank account although he had not applied for it.

“I came to know that, while taking the first loan, Abhishek [Makwana] had downloaded an application and applied for the credit, furnishing a lot of personal details. They stole this data and later misused it, transferring money to my brother’s account without him asking for it. The e-mail also shows that Abhishek had returned the money that had been transferred to his account but he was still being harassed,” Jenis said.

The loan recovery agents had been continuously threatening and blackmailing him to pay up or they would shame him by contacting his family, relatives and friends. “This forced Abhishek to take his own life,” Jenis said.

The Charkop police have registered an FIR in the matter and are probing the case further. “We have registered an FIR under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code for cheating, criminal intimidation and intentional insult along with the sections of Information Technology Act. We are trying to ascertain if these loan application companies fulfil the legal requirements to run money-lending business,” said a police officer investigating the case.

Ritesh Bhatia, cyber security expert, says people are falling prey to these loan apps because it’s a hassle-free way to get credit instantly. “They are unaware of the harassment and blackmail they might have to experience once they get trapped,” he said. These instant loan apps charge huge processing fees and interest rates as high as 30 per cent or even more. After shelling out so much for credit, the customers are subjected to intimidation and cyber bullying by such loan companies, he said.

Nowhere do the app policies mention that if the victim doesn’t pay on time, their friends or families would be contacted, Bhatia said.

Moreover, he said, accessing someone’s personal data on phone is not required to process a loan.

The RBI had recently cautioned against such loans and asked the aggrieved borrowers to file complaints on its portal.

“There have been reports about individuals/small businesses falling prey to a growing number of unauthorised digital lending platforms/mobile apps on promises of getting loans in a quick and hassle-free manner. These reports also refer to excessive rates of interest and additional hidden charges being demanded from borrowers, adoption of unacceptable and high-handed recovery methods, and misuse of agreements to access data on the mobile phones of the borrowers,” the RBI said in a statement.

Four months ago, Sonakshi Sinha would wake up to hateful social media messages every morning. While the actor left Twitter soon after, the episode made her take stock of the larger menace of cyber harassment, leading to the genesis of Ab Bas in July. Through the campaign that is supported by Mumbai Police, Mission Josh and cyber expert Ritesh Bhatia, Sinha wants to encourage netizens to initiate strict action against online bullying.

"During the lockdown, we saw a marked rise in cases of online harassment. People were idle and frustrated, which was manifesting in the form of online hate. Harassment starts with abusing, graduates to stalking, and then there are threats. With Ab Bas, the idea was to familiarise people with the legal options they have when subjected to cyber-bullying. Creating awareness is necessary because school children and young people are falling prey to it," she emphasises. As part of the initiative, representatives help claimants gather evidence of social media abuse and file complaints with the concerned authorities.

In August, the Mumbai cyber crime cell had nabbed a man in Aurangabad for harassing Sinha online. Though relieved that steps are being taken to curb the menace, she seeks actionable measures that will effect a clampdown on the issue. "The Mumbai Cyber Crime cell has started tracking the IP addresses of the harassers and catching them. People may hide behind fake accounts, but their IP addresses can be tracked down. I want online abusers to know there will be consequences. We have simplified the process of taking action. To their credit, people are stepping up to file complaints." Her next step is to take the campaign on a national level. "We are talking to different authorities to ensure it is implemented across the nation."

Even as she is working towards making social media the "safe and happy space" that it was originally envisioned as, the actor has no intention of returning to Twitter. "I deactivated my account, and with that, a lot of the negativity dissipated from my life. To me, peace of mind is most important. I am not keen to hop back on Twitter."