Rashmika Mandanna Deepfake Case: Police track down 4 suspects, mastermind still on run

Rashmika Mandanna Deepfake Case: Remember the recent Deepfake case, which led many actresses into trouble? In the latest development to Rashmika Mandanna’s case, the Delhi Police has now tracked down four suspects, according to the ANI.

Delhi Police tracks 4 suspects in Rashmika Mandanna Deepfake Case

However, they haven’t clarified that these suspects seem to be the uploaders and not the creators of the deepfake profile. Therefore, the hunt is still on for the key conspirator.

On November 24, this controversial case hit a dead end as social media platforms said they were unable to give any details about the individual(s) who allegedly made the deepfake profile.

Citing the sources, ANI said the accused either removed or deleted their account from social media platforms. Officials said the account could have been created with a fake identity and using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to upload the deepfake videos.

What’s govt stance on this case?

Stepping into this matter, Union Minister for Communications, Electronics, and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw on November 18 said that notices were issued to all social media platforms directing them to take necessary steps to identify and remove deepfake content.

As per officials, the police detained a few suspects. However, none of them created the deepfake video in question but shared the video.

Did social media companies helped to track down accused?

In November only, the Delhi Police IFSO (Internet Freedom and Safety for Online Users) unit sent a letter to Meta (formerly Facebook) but the social media company responded by expressing its inability to provide details of the deleted account.

The police are still awaiting a reply from GoDaddy (a publicly traded internet domain registry) since a similar profile was made through GoDaddy also, said the sources.

What is Rashmika Mandanna Deepfake case?

For those who are unaware, this controversy all started on November 6, when a morphed video of Animal actor Rashmika Mandanna appeared online sparking discussions of digital safety. In the viral video, it can be seen that a woman resembling the actress Rashmika was entering a lift wearing a black swimsuit.

The video quickly went viral and several social media users came forward to confirm that it was a deep fake. It was later identified that the video was of a British Actress Zara Patel.

Here’s what Rashmika said:

Condemning this ordeal, she took to her social media saying, “I feel really hurt to share this and have to talk about the deep fake 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."

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

Following this, the Delhi Police lodged the FIR under relevant sections, and an investigation has been carried out into the deepfake case. They also said a technical analysis is underway to identify the accused involved.