Fake videos of two of India’s A-lister Bollywood actors, criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and campaigning for the opposition Congress party, have raised fears of AI meddling in India’s election.
In a 30-second video that shows Aamir Khan and another 41-second clip of Ranveer Singh, the two Bollywood actors purportedly say Modi failed to keep campaign promises and failed to 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.
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Their spread underlines the potential role such AI (artificial intelligence)-generated content can play in the mammoth Indian election that started on Friday and will continue until June.
AI and AI-generated fakes, or deepfakes, are being increasingly used in elections elsewhere in the world, including in the US, 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 election – in which Modi is expected to secure a rare third term – is the first in which AI is being used.
A Congress party spokesperson, Sujata Paul, shared actor Singh’s video with her 16,000 followers on X on April 17 and by Saturday afternoon, her post had been reshared 2,900 times, liked 8,700 times and received 438,000 views.
Both actors have said the videos are fake. Facebook, X and at least eight fact-checking websites have said they are altered or manipulated.
Nearly 900 million people in India 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 over three hours a day on social media. The country has nearly one billion voters.
- Reuters with additional editing by Sean O’Meara
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