Sara Tendulkar, daughter of cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, opened up about the controversy around her viral deep fake photos. In a post on Instagram, Tendulkar demanded X (formerly Twitter) to take action on the deep fake images. She also confirmed that she has no official account on X and the deep fakes have been created with an intent of misleading people.
“Entertainment should never come at the expense of the truth. Let’s encourage communication that’s based in trust and reality,” Tendulkar’s Instagram post read. The statement comes days after her deep fake photo went viral on X. While the original snap was of Sara Tendulkar and her brother Arjun Tendulkar, the distorted image showed her along with young cricketer Shubhman Gill.
Mayhem of imposter accounts
Multiple accounts using the name Sara Tendulkar exist, and a recent imposter account has garnered significant attention, amassing over 250 thousand followers. According to recent media reports, this fraudulent account not only shared deep fake images of Sara but also went to the extent of sending messages to individuals in her close circle.
PM Modi’s concern over deep fakes
Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concerns about the prevalence of deepfakes. During the ‘Voice of Global South’ Summit, conducted virtually, Modi highlighted the potential threats posed by the misapplication of artificial intelligence, leading to the creation of deepfake content. He emphasised that deepfakes could pose significant challenges to India’s societal fabric. Modi called upon the citizens and media to remain vigilant in addressing issues related to deepfakes. Additionally, he specifically mentioned the responsibility of ChatGPT’s team to alert the public about the presence of deepfake content on social media platforms.
The Prime Minister’s remarks came in the wake of a recent incident involving a deepfake video circulating on the Internet, featuring Indian actress Rashmika Mandanna. Responding to this, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and Information Technology of India, underscored the heightened importance for social media platforms to actively monitor and control the spread of such videos to prevent the dissemination of misinformation.
