Gujarat: Gujarat cops are worried over morphed videos

As the political gears shift in preparation for the general election next year, law enforcement agencies in Gujarat are concerned about the emerging threat of AI-powered deepfake videos.

The police have already encountered two instances where manipulated videos of politicians were released in the state.

While one was reported from Surat in April 2021, the other came to light in November 2022 during the peak of political campaigning for the polls held in December.

As per records, the cybercrime police station in Shahibaug received a complaint from Pravin Chandrana, the president of the legal cell of AAP Gujarat, on November 11, 2022. 

The complaint, a copy of which is with TOI, stated that some local news channel had circulated an obscene video of their party leader and Delhi MLA, Gulab Singh Yadav, ahead of the 2022 Gujarat assembly polls.

The second case involved former chief minister Vijay Rupani. The Surat crime branch arrested embroidery businessman Kishan Arvind Rupani from Dhandhuka allegedly for circulating a deepfake video of Rupani on social media.

A home department official said, "Such videos can be created for as little as $200 to $250 ((Rs 16,500 to Rs 20, 600 approx).

The criminals just need a sample of your voice and your video to replicate your facial features and characteristics. It is difficult to trace the digital footprint of such videos.

The problem is that the videos seem very real. "By the time a person registers a complaint and the police begin an investigation, the victim's reputation will be shot. In the context of election campaigns, it is not tough for someone to fake a video to spread lies or issue threats to foment trouble.We worry we will have to deal with deepfake videos as 2024 election campaigning heats up."

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on January 23 flagged the disturbing trend of "deep fake narratives" that had become a common feature in elections worldwide. Kumar was speaking at a three-day international conference on the 'Use of Technology & Elections Integrity' organized by the Election Commission of India in Delhi.