Deepfake technology is one of the downsides of the constantly evolving field of AI. It enables cybercriminals to not only alter their voices to mimic someone else but also manipulate videos to make them appear genuine. The latest victim of deepfake is actor Rashmika Mandana.

A recent viral video has taken the internet by storm, featuring who seemed to be actor Rashmika Mandanna entering an elevator. However, upon closer examination, it turns out to be a deepfake – a digitally manipulated video. The deception is so convincing that it has garnered millions of views, with over 2.4 million views on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Abhishek Kumar, a journalist, shared the video on X, raising concerns about the need for new legal and regulatory measures to combat the spread of fake content on the internet. The initial video was originally shared on Instagram on October 8, featuring a woman named Zara Patel. There is no evidence to suggest that Patel was involved in the creation of the deepfake video. It remains a mystery who created the fake video and what their motivations were. Sadly, this is not an isolated incident, as various celebrities from different fields have fallen victim to similar fake videos in recent years.

The video was also shared by actor Amitabh Bachchan, who tweeted saying that the deepfakes are a “strong case for legal”.

If you play the videos side by side–the deepfake and the authentic video– you will notice a striking difference. In the real video, Zara Patel's face is clearly visible as she enters the elevator. However, after just a brief second, the video undergoes a transformation, morphing into the face of Rashmika Mandanna. Rashmika, a renowned actress in Indian cinema, achieved fame in 2016 and has since garnered numerous accolades.

What is Deepfake?

Deepfake is a type of synthetic media in which a person in an existing image or video is replaced with someone else's likeness using AI. While the act of faking content is old, deepfakes leverage powerful techniques from machine learning and artificial intelligence to manipulate or generate visual and audio content with a high potential to deceive.

Deepfakes can often be identified by unnatural facial expressions or movements, such as blinking too often or not enough, or movements that are too stiff or jerky.The eyes are a good indicator of whether a video is real or fake. Deepfakes often have blurry or unfocused eyes, or eyes that don't match the person's head movements.

Source: India Today