Rashmika Mandanna Deepfake Probe: Meta Not Cooperating, Say Delhi Police Sources

New Delhi: Even as the government comes down strictly against deepfakes, sources in the department told India Today TV that Meta (formerly Facebook) has not been cooperating with the investigation pertaining to the deepfake video of actor Rashmika Mandanna.

Sources were quoted as saying that the social media giant has not provided any details so far despite being sent a notice. The Cyber Cell of Delhi Police’s Special Cell is currently conducting an investigation into the matter.

Notably, a case was registered on November 10, against unknown persons following which the officials wrote to Meta seeking the URL of the account from which the deepfake video of actress Rashmika Mandana was shared.

Deepfake videos involve the creation of synthetic media, wherein the appearance of a person in an original image or video is replaced with the likeness of someone else.

Sources also revealed that despite a prolonged investigation, no leads have been found on the alleged perpetrator. The accused has deleted his/her account and erased all data associated with it, sources said, adding that the accused had used a fake identity and VPN for the account, the report added.

The Cyber Cell, during its questioning of individuals who shared the video, has not yet found any clues to the creator of the deepfake video. These individuals were the ones who had shared the video on social media platforms such as X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook and others.

“As part of technical analysis, officials are identifying all the IP addresses from where the video was uploaded and are trying to trace the address from where the video was first uploaded on the internet,” an official told news agency PTI.