Ahead of the Delhi assembly elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have shared edited deepfake clips from Prime Video’s show Panchayat, and supposedly SonyLIV’s Maharani series to mock each other.
On December 29, 2024, BJP Delhi on X (formerly Twitter) edited and shared the popular Dekh Rahe Hain Binod scene from Panchayat, in which one of the actors informs the other of AAP’s fraudulent move to collect citizens’ personal data in the guise of registering them for government schemes. The video refers to AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal as “maha thug” (great thug).
The actor then goes on to caution the viewers of the video about such activities. The word ‘spoof’ is written at the bottom left of the video, not in the post’s caption, making it easy to miss for most viewers. Ee Toh Gazab Fraud Ho Raha Hai (This is a huge fraud) is the post’s caption for this video.
AAP retaliated in less than two hours. Delhi’s incumbent ruling party shared deepfake clips from the same show, featuring its actors seen and heard promoting the party’s schemes. In addition, the party has edited Amazon Prime’s name in the video to make it read AAP Prime.
Although the post’s caption reads ‘Spoof’, this social media strategy from both political parties does not bode well on the ethics scale.
The BJP, determined not to fall behind, uploaded a deepfake video supposedly of SonyLIV’s Maharani series the next day (December 31). The faces of Delhi’s interim chief minister, Atishi Marlena, and Kejriwal were imposed on the faces of the show’s cast and showed them laughing while discussing their true plans.
The video talks about AAP’s announcement of a scheme to increase the wages of temple priests but not implement it once AAP wins the elections because of this announcement.
In addition to these, journalist Sanket Upadhyay posted on X about AAP’s deepfake video of Google Pay’s ad starring actor Pankaj Tripathi speaking against the BJP.
Last year, actor Ranveer Singh filed an FIR against a deepfake video in which he was seen criticising the Prime Minister.
The liberal use of editing and deepfake technology, and even generative AI by political parties sets a wrong and unethical precedent; social media users and influential folks can now use it to set a narrative suiting them or for entertainment without taking permission from the affected people or intellectual property.
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In May 2024, model Kanchan Nagar sent a legal notice to the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), the ad industry’s watchdog, after her facial likeness was used by online travel aggregator Yatra without her consent to create an AI-generated model for a print ad.
She urged the relevant authorities and ASCI in her notice to address the growing threat of deepfake and AI technology in advertising, to address the unauthorised use of one's likeness, and to ensure transparency in commercial advertising practices.
In the same month, fraudsters impersonated WPP’s CEO Mark Read using a voice clone, YouTube footage, and a fake WhatsApp account during a meeting with the company’s senior leadership.
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Zomato, in 2023, came under fire for using generative AI to show Elon Musk preparing chaat, Lionel Messi serving Biryani, and Leonardo DiCaprio brewing chai without seeking their permission to use their likeness. It soon took down the video.
Delhi HC orders Meta to remove deepfake videos of India TV chairman Rajat Sharma
There are no clear laws against deepfake technology. An Indian Express report from October 2024 says the Delhi High Court directed the Union Government to file a status report and inform the court whether “a dedicated high-powered government committee has been set up to frame guidelines to regulate deepfake technology.”
Back in 2023, the Union Government issued an advisory to social media websites asking them to identify misinformation and deepfakes and remove such content within 36 hours of them being reported.
“It is a legal obligation for online platforms to prevent the spread of misinformation by any user under the Information Technology (IT) rules, 2021. They are further mandated to remove such content within 36 hours upon receiving a report from either a user or government authority," the advisory quoted the then minister of state for the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrashekhar.
“Failure to comply with this requirement invokes Rule 7, which empowers aggrieved individuals to take platforms to court under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). It is imperative that platforms take proactive measures to combat this threat."
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