Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police have registered cases against Meta India’s head Arun Srinivas and the operators of several Facebook and Instagram accounts over the alleged circulation of AI-generated and digitally morphed videos and images targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The content, which portrayed the Prime Minister in an obscene, derogatory and misleading manner, reportedly began spreading during the Cockroach Janta Party-led student protests over the NEET paper leak at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.
The cases were filed on complaints from two individuals, S Aravind Reddy, a 29-year-old businessman, and T Saikiran Goud, a 32-year-old Telangana BJP social media core committee member. Both said they encountered the manipulated material while browsing the platforms.
Reddy alleged the posts included altered visuals involving the Prime Minister alongside former Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and an edited image of US President Donald Trump. Goud submitted around 20 links to reels and posts, describing them as derogatory and potentially prejudicial to national sovereignty, integrity and public order. The complainants claimed the material, which appeared to be AI-generated or digitally altered, had the potential to mislead the public, spread misinformation, incite hatred or unrest, outrage public decency, defame public figures and disturb communal harmony.
Police have invoked Sections 66-C and 67 of the Information Technology Act, dealing with identity theft and the publication or transmission of obscene material in electronic form, along with Sections 353(2) and 336(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to statements conducive to public mischief and the creation of forged electronic records that harm reputation. The origin of the videos, how they were amplified on Meta-owned platforms, whether the company’s safeguards were adequate, and the roles of those who created, uploaded or shared the content are being examined.
Notices have been issued to Meta seeking details of the flagged accounts and links. By Thursday evening many of the cited posts had become inactive, though police continue efforts to identify and trace the operators.
The FIRs come days after Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police summoned Meta representatives to explain the company’s systems for detecting and removing AI-generated scams, fake advertisements and other manipulated content. A Meta representative appeared before investigators and outlined the firm’s content moderation and compliance measures. The development adds to recent scrutiny of the platform after a video posted from the Prime Minister’s account was briefly restricted on Facebook; Meta later assured the government of enhanced safeguards for prominent accounts, including additional oversight by senior officials.
Delhi Police had earlier directed social media platforms to remove posts containing offensive remarks against the Prime Minister linked to the protests and related events.
Police have described the probe as preliminary, with further action dependent on digital evidence collected.