Fact Check: Rashmika Mandanna’s Video Going Viral On Internet Is Deep Fake

Vishvas News | New Delhi: A video featuring actress Rashmika Mandanna has gone viral on social media, sparking various reactions from netizens. This video is being widely shared on multiple social media platforms, with many users believing it to be genuine footage of Rashmika Mandanna. However, after an investigation conducted by Vishvas News, it was determined that this video was a deep fake. Deep fake technology involves the creation of artificial media by replacing the original photo or video of a person with that of another individual in a manner that closely resembles reality.

What’s going viral?

Social media user ‘Rashmika By Me’ shared the viral video as being of Rashmika Mandanna.

Investigation:

Upon careful observation of the viral video, one can distinctly notice the alterations made within it. The collage displayed below reveals three distinct frames from this video. Notably, the appearance of the girl in the initial frame (entering the lift) differs entirely from that of Rashmika Mandanna, a transformation occurring as she steps into the lift.

Consequently, the video that is going viral is not of Rashmika Mandanna but of someone else, manipulated through deep fake technology. After conducting a reverse image search on the viral video’s screenshot, the original video was traced back to an Instagram user named ‘zaarapatellll,’ shared on October 9.

This viral video is an edited rendition of the original footage, incorporating Rashmika Mandanna’s face. Mandanna herself, using her verified X handle, tagged Cyberabad Police, describing the incident as a chilling experience.

About the viral video, we reached out to Dr. Azhar McVeigh, an AI expert and enterprise architect at Lloyds Banking Group. He confirmed, “This video is fabricated,” noting visible discrepancies present in multiple areas, including facial features.

In our investigation of the video, we consulted Abhijit Parashar, another expert specialising in AI and machine learning. He stated, “This is synthetic media, and for some time, such videos have been employed as a means to disseminate misinformation.” Parashar mentioned that these videos commonly utilise the faces of well-known personalities.

As detailed on the security.virginia.edu website, a deep fake is essentially an artificially generated image or video produced through a specialized form of machine learning (“deep”).

These videos are crafted by manipulating the original footage through algorithms, often incorporating the faces of notable individuals to lend an air of authenticity and credibility. With the rise of AI tools, the proliferation of such videos has surged. Vishvas News provides fact-check reports on such viral videos in their AI sections.

Following the emergence of Rashmika Mandanna’s deep fake video, as reported by Indian Express, Union Minister Rajiv Chandrashekhar described deep fake videos as “the most perilous and damaging form of misinformation.” The minister urged social media platforms to adhere to their legal obligations, citing the IT rules notified in April.

The individual who shared the viral video boasts approximately 35,000 followers on Facebook. Vishvas News’ AI Literacy Series delves into methods for identifying such deep fake videos.

Conclusion: The video circulating on social media featuring actress Rashmika Mandanna entering a lift is a deep fake video. This manipulated video has been crafted by modifying content sourced from another profile on Instagram.

Tags

• Deep Fake
• Rashmika Mandana