Victims of deepfake videos: The recent proliferation of deepfake videos featuring numerous well-known figures has sparked widespread attention on social media, eliciting reactions among users. Veteran investor and founder of MK Ventures Madhusudan Kela has become the latest victim of a deepfake video scam, which aims to dupe retail investors of their money.
“Hi all. This is to inform that a fake video which appears to be AI generated (voiceover on my existing video) is being circulated on various social media sites like Instagram/Fb claiming/false information and promising investment returns. Please note that I have not made any such claims or promises and I do not support these communications. I am in the process of taking legal action for the same. Request you all to not invest basis such video and kindly report the video and not to forward or share it further,” Madhusudan Kela posted on X.
“Fraudsters are increasingly targeting prominent figures in the investment world, attempting to dupe retail investors of their money. The latest victim of such fraud is Mr. Madhusudan Kela, a veteran investor and founder of MK Ventures. These deepfakes are becoming increasingly convincing, blurring the line between what is authentic and what is not, further creating a trust deficit in the ecosystem,” said Ankit Ratan, CEO & Co-founder at Signzy.
The increasing incidents of deepfake manipulation have made it exceedingly challenging to authenticate users.
Let’s take a look at the victims of deep fake videos
Ratan Tata
Earlier in December 2023, Ratan Tata, ex-chairman of the Tata Group, exposed a deepfake video on Instagram where he appears to give investment advice. The video, shared by user Sona Agarwal, falsely depicted Tata offering investment guidance, along with a caption suggesting users could amplify their investments ‘risk-free’.
Narayana Murthy
Narayana Murthy, the founder of Infosys, highlighted the existence of several deepfake videos circulating on the internet featuring him.
“In recent months, there have been several fake news items propagated via social media apps and on various webpages available on the internet claiming that I have endorsed or invested in automated trading applications,” Murthy wrote on the microblogging site.
Actress Priyanka Chopra was spotted endorsing a brand and disclosing her annual income in another misleading video. Unlike some other actors, Priyanka’s face remains unaltered in controversial videos. However, the audio of her voice and lines from the original video have been substituted with a fake brand advertisement.
Similarly, actor Alia Bhatt was featured in a deceptive deepfake video, later confirmed to be false. The viral footage showed Bhatt’s face digitally placed onto another woman, depicted sitting on a bed.
A viral video featuring actress Rashmika Mandanna circulated widely on social media in November last year. In response, the actress promptly took to her social media platforms to express her distress.
In her comments on X, Mandanna wrote, “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.”