Today I would like to share some good news with you. For the last several days, I have been concerned about several DeepFake videos circulating on social media in which my face and voice using Artificial Intelligence technology have been faked in order to promote spurious medicines for curing diabetes and other ailments. In one of the fake videos, I was shown advising Amitabh Bachchan how to treat joint pain with a spurious medicine. Some of the fake videos showed me as promoting weight-loss medicines while talking to some renowned doctors. I shared these fake videos with you in the ‘Aaj Ki Baat’ show recently. I also mentioned that I had filed a petition in court against such deepfake videos.
Delhi High Court has now directed all Meta platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, to immediately remove/pull-down/block such fake videos that were made using Artificial Intelligence technology. Eight of these fake videos were on Facebook. On my behalf, Senior Advocate Sai Krishna appeared and argued the case cogently before the Delhi High Court. Justice Amit Bansal issued an order directing Meta Platforms Inc. to remove all such deepfake videos.
The High Court not only directed the removal of these deepfake videos but also directed Meta Platforms Inc. to disclose the names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of the users who posted them. Justice Amit Bansal also directed the Department of Telecom and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to instruct all internet service providers to block such users from posting deepfake videos.
The matter is serious because millions of viewers in India and abroad have been watching my shows on television for decades and they trust my words. These people tried to mislead viewers by posting videos faking my face and voice.
Several celebrities met me personally and pointed this out to me. Ustad Amjad Ali Khan one day requested me not to promote spurious medicines for treating diabetes. I tried to explain to Ustad Ji that the videos were fake, I do not sell medicines, but he could not fully understand how anybody could fake my face and voice. It was really a cause of concern for me.
Years ago, I had interviewed Amitabh Bachchan on my show ‘Aaj Ki Baat’. It was the time when his movie Bhootnath was released in 2008. I spoke to Amit Ji about Narendra Modi and the rest of the interview was about his movie Bhootnath. That video was tinkered with and was posted on Facebook recently in which I was shown advising Amitabh Bachchan to use a certain spurious medicine for treating joint pain. AI-generated voices of myself and Amitabh Bachchan were used. For the common viewer, it was difficult to differentiate between the real and the fake one.
In another fake video, I was shown speaking to renowned heart surgeon Dr Naresh Trehan discussing a spurious medicine for treating prostatitis and high blood pressure. Both the videos are fake. In yet another fake video with cardiac surgeon Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, my face and my AI-generated fake voice were used.
I am hopeful that this trend of posting deepfake videos will come to an end after the Delhi High Court order. In his order, Justice Amit Bansal has described this as a “gross violation of personality and publicity rights”, because the Facebook users had used official India TV logos to lend credibility to the videos.
In his order, Justice Amit Bansal said, “Such individuals or entities..have been engaging in infringing the plaintiff’s intellectual property rights…and are restrained from using the registered trademarks of the plaintiff (India TV) for misappropriating, tarnishing and diluting the good and reputation of the plaintiffs.”
Let me explain the consequences of posting such deepfake videos. Even my own family members were stunned when they watched them. One of my ‘bhabhi’ (sister-in-law) who lives in Mumbai, sent me a deepfake video of myself with Amitabh Bachchan, in which the superstar was shown giving me tips about investments.
My ‘bhabhi’ asked me, how much should she invest in such ventures. I told her the video was a deepfake one, but she was hesitating to trust my words fully. She then sent me another video of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy. I again explained to her that it was a deepfake one. I told her not to invest her money in such ventures, and already many people have lost lakhs of rupees in such fake ventures. Two days later, she again sent me another fake video in which I was shown promoting investments. Now, it was exasperating for me to explain the truth to her. She told me she knew my face very well and that it was not a fake one. I told her that the face could be mine but the voice was not mine, it was AI-generated.
It should now be clear to many of those who know me personally that all such videos are deepfakes and the sole intent is to deceive people. If anyone posts more deepfake videos imitating my voice and face on social media platforms, this Delhi High Court order will be useful in getting them removed/deleted/pulled down. I need the cooperation of all of you in this matter. If you find any such fake video circulating on social media, kindly contact me on this number 93505 93505, either by phone or by sending a message.
I am grateful to Justice Amit Bansal for hearing this case in full and for showing the right path in tackling misinformation through deepfake videos.
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India’s Number One and most followed Super Prime Time News Show ‘Aaj Ki Baat- Rajat Sharma Ke Saath’ was launched just before the 2014 General Elections. Since its inception, the show has redefined India’s super-prime time and is numerically far ahead of its contemporaries. Aaj Ki Baat: Monday to Friday, 9:00 pm.
