Delhi HC to Remove Deepfake Videos of Shashi Tharoor Praising Pakistan - MediaNama
The Delhi High Court addressed deepfake videos falsely depicting Shashi Tharoor praising Pakistan, raising concerns about AI-generated content and personality rights.
- Incident date
- May 2024
- Target
- Shashi Tharoor
In May 2024, the Delhi High Court addressed a petition from Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor regarding deepfake videos circulating online. The videos falsely portrayed him praising Pakistan, leading him to seek protection of his personality rights.
What happened
Tharoor alleged that AI-generated videos used his face, voice, and mannerisms to falsely depict him making supportive statements about Pakistan. According to the plea, some videos portrayed him calling Pakistan’s diplomatic strategy “absolute brilliance” and claiming that “Pakistan is faring much better diplomatically than India.” He argued the clips were fabricated using artificial intelligence and were realistic enough to mislead viewers. Tharoor claimed the videos were circulated during an election campaign and were intended to damage his public image and influence public opinion. The Court issued summons to relevant parties and said it would pass orders to remove the deepfake videos.