Around 75% Indians have encountered deep fake content in last one year: Report

More than 75 per cent of Indians have encountered deepfake content in the past year or so, and a significant number of people were unable to spot real and artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content, according to a recent report by the American global computer security software company, McAfee.

One in four Indians believedpolitical deepfakes were real

The study by MSI-ACI involved 7,000 consumers from across several countries likeIndia, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, and Germany, to examine the impact of AI and technology.

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Notably, with 75 per cent of people saying that they have encountered deepfake content in the past year or so, only 30 per cent of respondents feel confident in their ability to distinguish between real and fake content.

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In a more concerning finding of the study, which was conducted in January and February, McAfeefound that nearly one in four (22 per cent) Indians surveyed said that they had encountered a political deepfake including video, image, or recording of a candidate which they thought was initially true.

This comes as India is in the midst of holding the world’s largest elections with nearly one billion voters headed to the polls and the impact of this deepfake content on their decisions would be difficult to know.

However, it is also believed that the number of Indians exposed to this digitally altered content is much higher as many people were unable to distinguish between real and fake content.

According to the study, nearly eight of 10 (80 per cent) people are more concerned about deepfakes than they were last year.

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At least 31 per cent of respondents also said they believe that the influence of deepfakes on the country’s general elections is one of the most concerning issues related to AI-powered technology, as perthe report.

According to the McAfee study, 64 per cent of respondents believe that AI has made it harder to spot online scams as the technology becomes more sophisticated and highlighted the challenges posed by deepfake technology in detecting fraudulent activities.

The potential uses of deepfakesinclude cyberbullying (55 per cent), fake pornography (52 per cent), scams (49 per cent), impersonation of public figures (44 per cent), erosion of media trust (37 per cent), electoral influence (31 per cent), and historical distortion (27 per cent).

Victims of scams

At least 38 per cent of people have reportedly encountered deepfake scams. Out of which 18 per cent of themsaid that they have been directly impacted by such scams with monetary losses and personal data compromise being common outcomes.

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Around 57 per cent mistook deepfake celebrity content for reality and at least 31 per cent faced financial losses as a result, according to the report.

This comes as misinformation and disinformation have become a major concern after recent notable incidents involving public figures like Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Aamir Khan, and Ranveer Singh.

(With inputs from agencies)