Delhi High Court grants interim protection to Shashi Tharoor against AI deepfake videos - The…

In early 2026, deepfake videos began circulating that falsely portrayed Congress MP Shashi Tharoor making politically sensitive remarks. The Delhi High Court intervened, granting Tharoor interim protection against the misuse of his likeness and voice.

What happened

Tharoor filed a civil suit seeking a permanent injunction against the misuse of his personality, voice, likeness, and public image through AI-generated deepfake videos. The videos allegedly cloned Tharoor’s face, voice, vocabulary, and speaking style, falsely portraying him making politically sensitive remarks, including purported praise of Pakistan’s diplomatic strategy. The Court found a prima facie case in his favour and restrained unknown persons from creating or circulating synthetic media using his identity. The Court ordered X Corp to remove specified links containing the alleged deepfake content and instructed Meta to ensure the continued inaccessibility of identified Instagram URLs. The platforms were also directed to disclose the identity of those who uploaded the infringing content. The Court noted that Tharoor had established significant goodwill and public trust over decades, and that his reputation, goodwill, name, physical appearance, image, likeness, voice, mannerisms, style, signature oratory style, and other attributes are uniquely identifiable and associated with him.