Infosys veteran and co-founder Narayana Murthy, who has been the recent victim of “deepfake”, has warned people not to "fall prey" to such information spreading on social media.
Warning the public about his fake videos and posts going viral on the web, Murthy says he "categorically" denies any endorsement, relation or association with these apps or websites.
In one of his fake videos floating on social media, Murthy can be seen speaking about his investment in automated trading platforms. The businessman has now said it's fake video and accused "malicious sites" of using his name to sell their products.
"I caution the public to not fall prey to the content of these malicious sites and to the products or services they are trying to sell you," says Murthy.
He adds that people should report any such instances to the regulatory authorities concerned.
The tycoon also says that recently, there has been a surge of fake news items propagated via social media apps and on various web pages. He adds that all such platforms are "fraudulent" ones.
"In recent months, there have been several fake news items propagated via social media apps and on various webpages available on internet claiming that I have endorsed or invested in automated trading applications named BTC AI Evex, British Bitcoin Profit, Bit Lyte Sync, Immediate Momentum, Capitalix Ventures etc. The news items appear on fraudulent websites that masquerade as popular newspaper websites and some of them even publish fake interviews," the Infosys founder says.
In a deepfake picture or a video, a person's face or body is digitally altered so they appear to be someone else, typically used maliciously or to spread false information. Deepfake has emerged as a serious threat to democracy and social institutions across the world. Propagation of deepfake content via social media platforms has aggravated this challenge.
Before Murthy, several celebrities had become victims of their deepfake pictures and videos making waves on social media, causing worries about the spread of false information.
Industrialist Ratan Tata and actors Rashmika Mandana and Katrina Kaif have been some of the big names that have been affected due to their deepfake pictures and videos on the web.
Considering the sensitivity of the issue regarding the misuse of tech, the government last month started an exercise for assessing and drafting necessary regulations to curb the menace of deepfake content.
"We will start drafting the regulation today itself, and within a short time, we will have a new set of regulations for deepfakes. This could be in the form of amending existing framework or bringing new rules, or new law," Communications and Electronics & IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) also advised social media intermediaries to exercise due diligence and take expeditious action against deepfakes.
Vaishnaw also said four pillars would be identified to tackle deepfake menace:
Detection: Deepfake content should be detected before and after such content is posted
Prevention: There should be an effective mechanism for preventing propagation of deepfake content
Reporting: Effective and expeditious reporting and grievance redressal mechanism should be available
Awareness: Mass awareness on the issue of deepfake should be created
