New Delhi

A new report revealed that nearly one in four Indians (22 per cent) have encountered political content that later turned out to be deepfake. McAfee, a cyber-security company, found that about 75 per cent of Indians have encountered deepfake content, raising concerns about the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for various purposes.

Most Indians are worried about AI-powered deepfakes impersonating public figures (44 per cent), undermining public trust in media (37 per cent), and influencing elections (31 per cent). Pratim Mukherjee, senior director of engineering at McAfee, highlighted the surge in deepfake cases involving both public and private figures in India. The ease with which AI can manipulate voices and visuals raises questions about content authenticity, particularly during an important election year.

The report surveyed 7,000 consumers globally across various countries, including India, in January and February of this year. Concerning uses of deepfakes identified in the report include cyberbullying (55 per cent), creation of fake pornographic content (52 per cent), scams (49 per cent), and distortion of historical facts (27 per cent).

Moreover, 64 per cent of respondents said that AI has made it more challenging to detect online scams. Additionally, 57 per cent encountered a video, image, or recording of a celebrity and believed it was real, with 31 per cent falling victim to scams and losing money.