VD Satheesan deepfake video — Aug 2024

In August 2024, Meta restricted access to a viral AI-generated video in India following a legal notice from the government. The video, which depicted Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan dancing with Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) officials, had reached over 17.8 million views on Instagram.

What happened

The video was produced by the Instagram account 'aikavala' and featured the Chief Minister in a satirical context related to ongoing power cut issues in the region. Despite the controversial nature of the parody, VD Satheesan had previously acknowledged the clip during a public event hosted by the Kerala High Court, where he humorously claimed he could dance better than prominent actors and politicians.

Following the video's viral success, the creators received a notification from Meta stating that access to the content had been restricted in India pursuant to a legal notice from the Government of India. The page operator, Abhijith, confirmed that the video remains viewable from other countries. While the Chief Minister denied requesting the removal of the content, the incident follows previous instances where Meta removed other videos critical of the state government, citing technical reasons. In those prior cases, the Chief Minister's Office had officially requested the reinstatement of the removed content, highlighting the complex intersection of AI-generated parody, government oversight, and platform moderation policies.