Deepfakes are rising, but it's the misuse that needs control

Big names like Elon Musk, Taylor Swift, Sachin Tendulkar, and Asaduddin Owaisi have all been targeted by deepfake videos. These fake videos have been used to promote scams, crypto schemes, and even make inappropriate content.

Today, with the help of AI tools, anyone can create fake content that looks very real. This makes it harder for people to trust what they see or hear online. Social media is full of AI-generated influencers, and sometimes it's tough to know if they’re real people or just digital creations.

What you see may not be real

The old saying “seeing is believing” no longer holds true. With the rise of generative AI (GenAI), videos and audio clips can be made that look and sound real—but are completely fake.

Even in the past, what we saw wasn’t always the truth. Historical photos and news events were often staged. Cinema and advertisements have long used tricks to create emotions or push ideas. So, even before deepfakes, not everything we saw was 100% real.

It’s not just our eyes. Our other senses are also tricked every day.

For example, sitcoms use fake laughter to make us laugh. Many singers use software to fix their voices. We wear clothes made from artificial fabrics like nylon and polyester. Even the smell of fresh bread in bakeries is often boosted by added chemicals.

Now, our visual sense is the latest to be affected by deepfakes—showing us things that never really happened.

Should we ban deepfakes completely?

This is a big question. But think of it like this: a knife can be used to cook, but it can also harm someone. We don’t ban knives—we punish harmful use. The same thinking can apply to deepfakes.

Instead of banning the technology, we should focus on punishing those who use it to harm others. The camera was once used for both good and bad. So is AI. It’s just a tool. The real problem lies in how it’s used.

Focus on harmful content, not the tech

There is no problem with using AI to make fun videos or animations, or to bring back old actors in films (with family consent). But if a deepfake is used to show a celebrity in a scam, or to make a fake speech that could create violence, then action must be taken.

Such harmful content should be strictly regulated. But AI-generated videos that are not harmful should not be banned.

Existing laws can handle deepfakes

India already has strong laws like the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act. These laws cover fake news, offensive videos, child safety, and defamation. So, we may not need new laws—just better use of existing ones.

The problem is that many police officers and law enforcers don’t fully understand how these laws apply to AI-generated content. Training them and spreading awareness will help victims get justice faster.

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How to build trust in AI content

We can’t stop people from making AI content, but we can make it clear when something is AI-generated. This will help users know what is real and what is fake.

The government is already working on a rule to label AI content. Some AI companies have started using watermarks—special marks that show the video or image was made by AI. But not all companies follow this rule. Also, bad actors will never label their fake videos.

That’s why it’s important to add automatic labels when AI content is created. These labels must be hard to remove and should work across all websites and apps. They should also include hidden information like who made the video, when, and where.

To catch people making harmful deepfakes, we need to be able to trace the source. This means adding metadata, secure logs, or digital signatures that show which person or device created the content.

If these steps become common, it will become much easier for police and other agencies to find and punish those misusing AI tools.

Years ago, people feared cameras, thinking they could steal souls or harm privacy. But over time, society accepted the camera and focused on stopping misuse—like secret recording or spying.

We should treat AI the same way. We don’t need to fear the tool itself. We need to stop people who use the tool to cheat, lie, or hurt others.
Deepfakes are not the enemy—how we use them is what matters. Technology will keep growing. The only way to protect truth is to stay alert, educate people, and punish those who use AI to harm others. Let’s not ban the brush—let’s stop those who paint lies with it.