Ranveer Singh’s deepfake endorsing political party goes viral; actor flags alert on Instagram

Deepfake se bacho doston, Ranveer wrote on his Instagram Story

April 20, 2024 06:54 am | Updated 07:35 am IST - Mumbai (Maharashtra)

While the video, from Ranveer Singh’s recent visit to Varanasi, appears genuine, the audio is of an AI-enabled voice clone of his. In photo, Bollywood actors Kirti Sanon and Ranveer Singh along with fashion designer Manish Malhotra, arrive to offer prayers at  Kashi Vishwanath Temple, in Varanasi. File

While the video, from Ranveer Singh’s recent visit to Varanasi, appears genuine, the audio is of an AI-enabled voice clone of his. In photo, Bollywood actors Kirti Sanon and Ranveer Singh along with fashion designer Manish Malhotra, arrive to offer prayers at Kashi Vishwanath Temple, in Varanasi. File | Photo Credit: ANI

After superstar Aamir Khan flagged a deepfake video of himself, a purported election pitch for a certain political party, actor Ranveer Singh has become the latest victim of the menace sweeping the industry.

A video of the actor of Padmaavat fame recently surfaced online in which he is purportedly heard voicing his political views. However, it now turns out that the video was made using an artificial intelligence voice clone of the actor.

Also Read | AI-generated deepfake videos, voice cloning emerge as potential threats during election season

While the video, from the actor's recent visit to Varanasi, appears genuine, the audio is of an AI-enabled voice clone of Ranveer.

The actor, married to Bollywood beauty Deepika Padukone, recently turned showstopper along with another prominent industry face, Kriti Sanon, at an open-air fashion show by the Ganges in Varanasi. The show was organised by top couturier Manish Malhotra.

During his visit to the ancient city, which happens to be one of the world's oldest pilgrimage sites, Ranveer spoke highly of the changes that have come about in terms of the public infrastructure overhaul while also sharing his 'divine' experience of the city.

Taking to his Instagram Story on Friday, Ranveer dropped a post in which he wrote, "Deepfake se bacho doston (Friends, beware of deepfakes)."

While the post had nothing on the clip doing the rounds of social media currently, it was evidently in response to his deepfake video.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Ranveer will be seen reprising his role of Simmba in Rohit Shetty's cop drama Singham Again, which also stars Deepika Padukone, actors Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff and Kareena Kapoor Khan.

Ranveer will also headline Farhan Akhtar's Don 3, which will arrive in 2025.

While announcing the film, Farhan requested the audience to give the same love to Ranveer as they showered on previous Don instalments.

Also Read | What can you do if someone makes deepfakes of you?

"In 1978, a character created by Salim-Javed and portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan with effortless elan, captured the imagination of theatregoers across the country. That enigmatic character was Don. In 2006, Don was reimagined and brought to life by Shah Rukh Khan in his own irresistibly charming way," he wrote.

"The time has now come to take the legacy of Don forward and joining us in this new interpretation will be an actor whose talent and versatility I have long admired. We hope that you will show him the love you have so graciously and generously shown to Mr Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan," the post further read.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.