AI deepfakes fueled disinformation during CJP protests in Maharashtra
Maharashtra Cyber Department uncovered a cross-border disinformation campaign during nationwide CJP protests that used AI-generated deepfakes, cloned voices and manipulated videos across social media platforms. The investigation identified over 500 profiles and 429 posts spreading false narratives to influence public perception, with around 100 accounts traced to Pakistan and the Middle East. Legal action was initiated and content removal requests were sent to social media platforms.
What happened
Maharashtra Cyber Department identified more than 500 social media profiles and 429 objectionable posts during a technology-assisted monitoring exercise of the nationwide Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protests.
The accounts spread false and misleading narratives across Instagram, X, Facebook and YouTube with the objective of influencing public perception and disturbing public order. The agency said around 100 of the identified accounts were operating from outside India, particularly from Pakistan and certain countries in the Middle East.
Over 140 posts and profiles contained AI-generated or AI-assisted content, including digitally inflated crowd visuals, synthetic voices, cloned audio and manipulated videos.
Reported impact
The disinformation campaign targeted the CJP protests with the stated objective of influencing public perception and disturbing public order.
Index analysis
Maharashtra Cyber used open-source intelligence, metadata examination, behavioural analysis and forensic tools to identify AI-generated and manipulated content circulating online.
The monitoring drive identified AI-generated deepfakes, cloned voices and manipulated videos as components of the cross-border disinformation network.
Governance controls
Legal action was initiated against the identified accounts, and requests were sent to social media platforms to remove the flagged content.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.