According to a recent survey conducted by LocalCircles, a social community platform, nearly 30 percent of Indians openly confess to regularly dealing with videos that later turn out to be fake.
"After watching videos, they (30 percent of respondents) discovered that 25% or more of them were actually fake," the survey revealed.
According to the survey findings, there is a significant lack of awareness and interest among people when it comes to verifying the credibility of videos shared with them on social media platforms.
Deepfakes are intentionally created digital manipulations of videos, photos, and audio through artificial intelligence with the purpose of spreading false information and being used maliciously for generating explicit content, spreading negative comments, and tarnishing the reputation of individuals.
The survey results indicated that 56% of respondents believe that a deepfake video circulating on a social media platform should be removed promptly within 24 hours of a complaint submission.
During community discussions, individuals voiced their concerns about the lack of responsiveness from platforms when users report their hacked social media accounts.
There have been reports stating that, despite filing a formal police complaint, it has taken a considerable amount of time, ranging from seven to 10 days, for account deactivation.
Moreover, individuals who have not filed a police complaint have had to endure waiting periods of up to three weeks before receiving any response from the platforms.
According to the survey, with the emergence of new tools worldwide each month that allow users to create deepfake videos, it is not only actors, politicians, and celebrities who could become targets, but anyone.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed grave concern over the rising instances of AI-generated deepfake videos and photos.
He highlighted the severity of this crisis in today's world, emphasising that a significant portion of society lacks a reliable verification system, thus making them vulnerable to falling for such deceptive content.
The Minister of State for Electronics and IT said the government will come up with new regulations soon to tackle deepfakes.
Meanwhile, the government has issued a mandate requiring social media companies to promptly and proficiently identify and block deceptive and deepfake videos.