1 In 4 Indians Have Confronted Deep Fake Political Content: McAfee

NEW DELHI, (IANS) – Nearly one in four Indians (22 percent) have said they recently came across political content they later discovered to be deepfake, a new report revealed on April 25.

According to the cyber security company McAfee, about 75 percent of Indians have encountered deepfake content, with most concerned about the potential use of Artificial Intelligence-powered deepfakes for (44 percent) impersonating public figures, (37 per cent) undermining public trust in media and (31 percent) influencing elections.

“Recently, India has been witnessing to an unprecedented surge in cases of deepfake content involving public and private figures. The ease with which AI can manipulate voices and visuals raises critical questions about the authenticity of content, particularly during a critical election year,” said McAfee.

The report surveyed 7,000 consumers globally across the US, UK, France, Germany, Australia, India, and Japan in January and February of this year.

Under the potential uses of deepfakes which are concerning, the report found cyberbullying (55 percent), creating fake pornographic content (52 percent), facilitating scams (49 percent), and distorting historical facts (27 percent).

About 64 percent said that AI has made it harder for them to spot online scams.

Around 57 percent came across a video, image, or recording of a celebrity and thought it was real, with 31 percent losing money to a scam.

“It’s imperative that consumers be cautious and take proactive steps to stay informed and safeguard themselves against misinformation, disinformation and deepfake scams,” said Mukherjee.