A recent study revealed a concerning trend among Indians, with one in four individuals encountering political content that turned out to be deepfake material, accounting for around 22 percent of the population. According to McAfee, a prominent cyber security firm, approximately 75 percent of Indians have been exposed to deepfake content, with a significant portion expressing worries about the potential ramifications of AI-generated deepfakes. The primary concerns included impersonating public figures (44 percent), eroding public trust in the media (37 percent), and influencing elections (31 percent).Pratim Mukherjee, senior director of engineering at McAfee, highlighted the surge in deepfake cases involving both public and private figures in India. Mukherjee emphasised the critical questions raised regarding content authenticity, particularly during a crucial election year, given the ease with which AI can manipulate voices and visuals.The study, conducted in January and February of this year, surveyed 7,000 consumers across various countries, including the US, UK, France, Germany, Australia, India, and Japan.Among the alarming potential uses of deepfakes outlined in the report were cyberbullying (55 percent), generating fake explicit content (52 percent), facilitating scams (49 percent), and distorting historical facts (27 percent). Additionally, 64 percent of respondents noted that AI has made it more challenging to detect online scams.Furthermore, about 57 percent of participants encountered a video, image, or recording of a celebrity and initially believed it to be authentic, with 31 percent falling victim to scams resulting in monetary loss.
