FIR registered over Aamir Khan’s deepfake video promoting Congress

Khar police register case after Aamir Khan files complaint about deepfake video promoting political party ahead of Lok Sabha elections.

MUMBAI: The Khar police have registered a case against an unidentified person after actor Aamir Khan filed a complaint regarding a deepfake video of his likeness being used to promote a political party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

New Delhi, India - Indian actor Aamir Khan poses for HT City interview at the Le Meridien Hotel on Thursday, 08th March. (Photo Jasjeet Plaha/HT)

According to the complaint, the actor’s legal team came across the video on April 14 on X. It features a likeness of Khan asking people about their financial well-being based on the electoral promises made by Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, and exhorting them to vote for the Congress party.

“When I asked about the said video, which was shared by an account called MiniforIYC, [Khan] said he had not shot for any such ad. After watching it, we concluded the visuals were taken out of an old video of his, with the voice-over possibly being patches with the help of artificial intelligence,” Huzvak Batliwala, the actor’s legal advisor, told the police.

The actor’s team maintained that the video was not just misleading the public into believing that Khan supported a particular political party but also completely false. They insisted that Khan does not endorse or oppose any political outfit.

The Khar police have booked the unknown accused under sections 419 (cheating by personation) and 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code, as well as the relevant sections of the Information Technology Act. The police have also summoned the person whose account first shared the ad to record their statement.