Tendulkar latest victim of deepfake, Centre mulls 'tighter rules'

New Delhi: Iconic cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Monday dismissed as "fake" the video in which he is seen promoting a gaming application that lures users for easy money.

The fake video shows Tendulkar talking about the merits of the application, saying he did not know that money making has become so easy and that his daughter uses the platform.

Tendulkar posted the video along with a message in which he expressed concern about misuse of technology.

"These videos are fake. It is disturbing to see rampant misuse of technology. Request everyone to report videos, ads & apps like these in large numbers," Tendulkar, 50, posted on social media platform X.

The voice used in the video matches Tendulkar's.

"Social Media platforms need to be alert and responsive to complaints. Swift action from their end is crucial to stopping the spread of misinformation and deepfakes," he wrote further.

Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar reacted to Tendulkar's post and said tighter rules under the Information Technology Act will be shortly notified by the government.

"Thank you @sachin_rt for this tweet. DeepFakes and misinformation powered by #AI are a threat to Safety&Trust of Indian users and represents harm & legal violation that platforms hv to prevent and take down.

"Recent Advisory by @GoI_MeitY requires platforms to comply wth this 100%. We will be shortly notifying tighter rules under IT Act to ensure compliance by platforms," Chandrasekhar wrote on X.

Actors Tom Hanks and Rashmika Mandanna are among famous personalities to have fallen victim to deepfakes in recent times.

Deepfakes refers to use of an image or recording that has been altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said.