Actor Ranveer Singh has filed a complaint over r a widely-circulated deepfake video that showed him endorsing a political party.

While the video – an interview he gave to the news agency ANI during his recent visit to Varanasi – is genuine, the audio was generated through an AI-enabled tool.
  
In the deepfake, Ranveer Singh was seen criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi over unemployment and inflation.

The altered video later concluded with a message urging people to vote for Congress.

“Deepfake se bacho doston (Friends, beware of deepfakes),” he had posted on Instagram after the deepfake went viral.

Ranveer Singh’s team said a First Information Report or FIR has been registered and investigation is on in the case. “Yes, we have filed the police complaint and FIR has been lodged against the handle that was promoting the AI-generated deepfake video of Ranveer Singh,” a spokesperson said. 

Earlier, a deepfake video of actor Aamir Khan in which he was seen promoting a political party, had gone viral on social media.

“We want to clarify that Aamir Khan has never endorsed any political party throughout his 35-year career. He has dedicated his efforts to raising awareness through Election Commission public awareness campaigns for many past elections,” Mr Khan’s spokesperson had said in a statement.

The spread of actors’ deepfakes underlines the potential role such AI-generated content can play in the Lok Sabha polls.

Deepfakes, are being increasingly used in elections elsewhere in the world, including in the US, Pakistan and Indonesia.

The opposition on Monday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his ‘illegal immigrants’ remarks made at an election rally in Rajasthan’s Banswara on Sunday. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that BJP was trying to ‘divert from real issues’ while Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said PM Modi had become ‘disillusioned.’

Voting for Lok Sabha polls in Narmadapuram will take place on April 26 in the second phase while the counting of votes will take place on June 4.