Deepfakes | Esther Anil, Anna Ben open up about their fears

The deepfake video featuring Rashmika Mandanna had generated a lot of discussions on the dangers of the misuse of AI-generated images and videos, with many celebrities seeking stringent measures to ensure such incidents do not repeat. Now, Mollywood actors, whom Onmanorama spoke to, share their concerns regarding social media and deepfakes and emphasise why people should take everything they see on the internet with a pinch of salt.

Drishyam actor Esther Anil, who will soon be seen in a Tamil film, says she hardly uses social media since she doesn’t feel safe there. “I hardly post any updates about my personal life on Instagram or other platforms. To be honest, I have reached a point where it makes me sick to be on social media now. I don’t feel safe there anymore. After uploading some of my posts, I noticed (a change) people’s attitude towards me. After a point, you realise there is no use trying to prove them a point. I think I have gone into a shell because of all that. I limit to posting only updates about my movies and other projects,” she said.

Esther says regulations alone cannot ensure people’s safety and privacy on social media. “Deepfakes are dangerous. But, I don’t think regulations alone will help. In fact, there are many tools that are available to recognise and remove such videos. But, are they really working? There are regulations about a lot of content on social media. However, if they were working, would the dark web exist? I think people should also not believe everything that is available on social media. That’s the only protection we have,” she said.

Anna Ben, meanwhile, sought stringent measures to regulate deepfakes. “Honestly, I don’t know how to tackle this issue, but the only option is to bring in strict measures to avoid such instances from happening in the future,” she said. Keerthy Suresh, who voiced her concern on X, said the ‘deep-fake video that’s going around is scary.’ “I really wish the person who had done this could have rather used that time to do something productive and not put the people involved, into misery. I don’t understand if technology for us today is a boon or a bane. Let’s use this platform widely to only spread love, positivity, awareness, and information and not nonsense. God save mankind,” she wrote on X.