Leading actress Rashmika Mandanna has spoken out against a recent viral deepfake video while addressing the potential harm that can be caused by the technology against women. Taking to X on Monday, November 6, the national sensation penned an emotional statement expressing her concern over identity theft and the risks the deepfake technology poses, while urging everyone to come together collectively as a community to tackle the issue at the earliest. Tagging Cyber Dost, the cyber-safety and cybersecurity awareness handle maintained by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, the Cyberabad Police, and Maharashtra Cyber on X, Rashmika wrote, "I feel really hurt to share this and have to talk about the deepfake video of me being spread online." (sic)
Rashmika further stated, "Something like this is honestly, extremely scary not only for me, but also for each one of us who today is vulnerable to so much harm because of how technology is being misused. Today, as a woman and as an actor, I am thankful for my family, friends and well wishers who are my protection and support system. But if this happened to me when I was in school or college, I genuinely can’t imagine how could I ever tackle this. We need to address this as a community and with urgency before more of us are affected by such identity theft." (sic)
I feel really hurt to share this and have to talk about the deepfake video of me being spread online.
Something like this is honestly, extremely scary not only for me, but also for each one of us who today is vulnerable to so much harm because of how technology is being misused.…— Rashmika Mandanna (@iamRashmika) November 6, 2023
Earlier in the day, legendary Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan demanded legal action be taken against those who created the deepfake video of Rashmika Mandanna. Soon after, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar reminded social media platforms of their legal obligations to fight the spread of misinformation as per the IT rules notified in April 2023. On the work front, Rashmika will be seen next in the highly-anticipated Animal opposite Ranbir Kapoor in Hindi releasing in theatres on December 1, while she is also currently attached to the pan-Indian Dhanush-starrer D51, followed by the bilingual Rainbow, and The Girlfriend in Telugu.
PM @narendramodi ji's Govt is committed to ensuring Safety and Trust of all DigitalNagriks using Internet
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@Rajeev_GoI) November 6, 2023
Under the IT rules notified in April, 2023 - it is a legal obligation for platforms to
➡️ensure no misinformation is posted by any user AND
➡️ensure that when reported by… https://t.co/IlLlKEOjtd
