"I have come across some deepfake photos of me"
Sara Tendulkar has issued a statement concerning deepfake photos of her.
The daughter of cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has fallen victim to deepfaking.
One viral picture shows her with her brother Arjun as she wished him happy birthday.
However, Arjun’s face had been edited. Instead, Shubman Gill’s face had been superimposed.
The deepfake came amid ongoing rumours that Sara is dating the cricketer.
Sara has now issued a statement, criticising the deepfakes while also urging her fans to keep an eye out for fake social media accounts.
In an Instagram Story, the post read: “Social media is a wonderful space for all of us to share our joys, sorrows and daily activities.
“However, it is disconcerting to see the misuse of technology as it takes away from the truth and authenticity of the internet.
“I have come across some deepfake photos of me which are far from reality.
“A few accounts on X (formerly Twitter) have obviously been created with an intent to impersonate me and mislead people.
“I do not have an account on X, and I hope X looks into such accounts and suspends them.”
Calling for an end to deepfakes, Sara concluded:
“Entertainment should never come at the expense of the truth.
“Let’s encourage communication that’s based on trust and reality.”
Sara Tendulkar’s deepfake ordeal comes amid a rise in morphed pictures and videos involving Indian celebrities.
One of the most high-profile cases involved Rashmika Mandanna.
A viral video showed a woman dressed in a low-cut unitard entering a lift.
The video was actually of British influencer Zara Patel but with Rashmika’s face superimposed.
Rashmika broke her silence on the matter, saying:
“Something like this is honestly, extremely scary not only for me, but also for each one of us who today is vulnerable to so much harm because of how technology is being misused.
“Today, as a woman and as an actor, I am thankful for my family, friends and well-wishers who are my protection and support system.
“But if this happened to me when I was in school or college, I genuinely can’t imagine how could I ever tackle this.
“We need to address this as a community and with urgency before more of us are affected by such identity theft.”
The likes of Katrina Kaif and Kajol have also fallen victim to deepfaking.
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