On 16th January, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against a Facebook page and a gaming website after cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar pointed out a deepfake video involving him. A deepfake video showed Tendulkar saying that he and his daughter Sara Tendulkar had won big money from playing a particular internet game. The Mumbai Cyber Police were alerted to the phoney clip by him after which the action was undertaken.
West Region Cyber Police lodged an official complaint under sections 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and 66A (criminalises the sending of offensive messages through a computer or other communication devices) of the Information Technology Act against a gaming website and a Facebook page following a complaint from Sachin Tendulkar’s personal assistant Ramesh Pardhe.
According to the submission, Ramesh Pardhe discovered that a previously recorded interview of Sachin Tendulkar with a media person, available on YouTube, had been altered and shared on the Hurma Facebook page. He further mentioned that the video which mimicked Tendulkar’s voice and movements using deepfake technology was also uploaded on the Skyward Aviator Quest gaming website.
“The visuals are from an old interview that Tendulkar gave to journalist Vikram Sathye. The audio seems to have been superimposed on the video using deep fake technology to make it sound authentic,” Ramesh Pardhe mentioned pointing out that the video claimed Sara Tendulkar won Rs 1.8 lakh a day by using the app to play games.
“We have sought details about the owner of the gaming portal. Usually, servers of these portals are located out of India and platforms are not too keen to share data swiftly,” informed an officer.
On 15th January, the cricketing legend used social media to address the alarming misuse of technology. He shared a deepfake video in which he was seen endorsing a gaming app and even advocating for its ability to help people earn money. He also urged people to be vigilant and take immediate measures against the spread of false information.
The 50-year-old cricketing legend expressed concerns about the issues brought about by the deceptive use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for photo and video editing and highlighted, “These videos are fake. It is disturbing to see rampant misuse of technology. Request everyone to report videos, ads & apps like these in large numbers. Social Media platforms need to be alert and responsive to complaints. Swift action from their end is crucial to stopping the spread of misinformation and deepfakes.”
India’s Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, responded to the post made by Sachin Tendulkar and said that the government will soon announce stricter regulations outlined in the Information Technology Act.
Notably, this is not an isolated instance. The malicious production and distribution of deepfake content, which frequently contains pornographic material, has grown to be effective as a tool for defamation of character and blackmail in recent years. Actors Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt, and Priyanka Chopra are among the famous people who have recently become victims of this deepfake threat. The severity of the issue first came to the fore after actress Rashmika Mandana highlighted how she fell victim to this targeted abuse.
Sara Tendulkar also brought up the matter when her altered photo with Shubman Gill also became viral on social media during the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023.