In fake videos that have gone viral on the Internet, two of Bollywood’s top actors are shown criticizing the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asking the people to vote for the opposition Congress party in the general elections held in the country.
In a 30-second video, in which the Aamir Khanand in another 41 seconds with Ranveer Singhthe two Bollywood actors reportedly say that Modi failed to fulfill his election promises and did not address critical economic issues in his two terms as prime minister.
Both of these videos, created with Artificial Intelligence, end with the Congress campaign symbol and slogan: “Vote Justice, Vote Congress.” The two videos have been viewed on social media more than half a million times since last week, Reuters found.
Their proliferation highlights the role such AI-generated content can play in indian election – mammoth which started on Friday and will continue until June. Artificial intelligence and fake AI-generated videos, so-called deepfakes, are increasingly being used in elections elsewhere in the world, including in the US, Pakistan and Indonesia.
Election campaigning in India has long focused on public rallies and a door-to-door approach, but the intensive use of WhatsApp and Facebook as election campaign tools began in 2019. This year’s general election, in which Modi is expected to secure a third term, is the first to use artificial intelligence.
The two actors have stated that the videos are fake. Facebook, X and at least eight fact-checking websites have said they are fake, a Reuters check confirmed.
