30% Indians surveyed admit that they are watching a lot of videos they later find to be fake; Want platforms to be mandated to remove deepfake videos within 24 hours

November 30, 2023, New Delhi: In the recent weeks, multiple Indian actors have featured in deepfake short videos circulating on various social media platforms. The contents of deepfake videos are generally misleading, as they are synthetic media generated by artificial intelligence (AI) tools, making it difficult for a viewer to make out whether they are real or false. Many deepfakes have been found in circulation in election bound states also, leading the government to take serious note of the rising trend of deepfakes, particularly in the light of the popularity of short videos.

Terming deepfakes as a new threat to democracy, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said the government will assist citizens in filing FIR against social media platforms for violation of IT rules in case they are aggrieved from objectionable content like deepfakes. He has also stated the government will come up with new regulations soon to tackle deepfakes. In the meanwhile, the government has mandated that social media companies must promptly and diligently identify misleading and deepfake videos. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has emphasized the necessity of taking swift action within 36 hours of deepfake videos being posted as specified for content falling into this category under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules of 2021.

LocalCircles has been receiving sizable number of public comments regularly on the subject of fake videos for almost two years now. In the light of the government proposing new regulations on deepfake videos, LocalCircles has conducted a survey to find out how people consume short videos, how common are fake videos and most importantly if their own or a family member’s deepfake video started circulating, how do they expect the platforms to redress their complaint. The survey received over 32,000 responses from citizens located in 319 districts of India. 64% respondents were men while 36% respondents were women. 46% respondents were from tier 1, 32% from tier 2 and 22% respondents were from tier 3, 4 and rural districts.

43% of Indians surveyed watch 3 or more short videos on average each day

Be it reels on Instagram or forwards in whatsapp groups, a common citizen is pushed many short videos on a daily basis.. The first question in the survey asked “On average, what percentage of the short videos do you watch on phone/tablet/laptop each day?” Out of 11,173 who responded to this query 35% indicated that they “rarely watch short videos”, 22% indicated “1-2” short videos; 14% indicated “3-5” short videos; 14% indicated “5-10” short videos; 8% of respondents indicated “10-15”; 3% of respondents indicated “15-20” and 4% of respondents indicated “over 20”. To sum up, the data shows 43% of Indians surveyed watch 3 or more short videos on average each day.

​30% of Indians surveyed say they later find 25% or more videos they watched to be fake

Very few people know or bother to check the authenticity of a video they watch forwarded to them on social media platforms. The next question in the survey asked, “On average, what percentage of the short videos that you watch on phone/tablet/laptop, you later have found them to​ be fake?” Out of 10,838 who responded to this query 37% stated that they “rarely watch videos that are later found to be fake”. However, 6% of those surveyed indicated that they have found “over 50%” of the videos they have watched to be fake; 24% indicated the proportion of such videos is “25-50%”; 6% of the respondents indicated that they are “10-25%” of videos watched; 17% indicated that they accounted for “up to 10%” of videos and 10% of respondents did not give a clear response opting for “Can’t Say”. The data shows that 30% of Indians surveyed say that of the videos they watched, they later find 25% or more of them to be fake.

56% of Indians surveyed say if a deepfake video of them or their family members is circulating on a social media platform, the platform should be required to remove it within 24 hours of complaint submission

Not just actors, politicians, celebrities, etc., but anybody can become the target of a deep fake videos as new tools emerge globally every month enabling users to create a deepfake video. The survey next asked, “If you or a family member’s deep fake video is circulating on a social media platform and you file a complaint with requisite details requesting removal, what should be the maximum time in which the platform must remove that video?” This query received 10,790 responses with 56% stating within “24 hours or 1 day”. Of the remaining, 9% of respondents wanted action within “one week or 7 days”; 4% of respondents indicated “72 hours or 3 days”; 6% stated “48 hours or 2 days​"​; 6% of respondents indicating “36 hours or 1.5 days” and 19% opting for “Can’t Say”. To sum up, 56% of Indians surveyed say if a deepfake video of them or their family members is circulating on a social media platform, they should be required to remove it within 24 hours of complaint submission.

As part of the community discussions, people have expressed the extremely poor responsiveness that platforms have to user complaints when their social media account gets hacked. People have written that even after a formal police complaint, it has taken 7-10 days for deactivation and without one many are waiting to hear from platforms even after 3 weeks. While the Government has proposed 36 hours for platforms to remove a deepfake video, many as per the survey finding believe that it should be 24 hours.

In summary, 43% of Indians surveyed say they watch 3 or more short videos on average each day. The problem of fake videos is not small as per the survey finding where 3 in 10 Indians surveyed said that of the videos they watch, they later find 25% or more of them to be fake. In the light of the problem, 56% of Indians surveyed say if a deepfake video of them or their family members is circulating on a social media platform, the platform should be required to remove it within 24 hours of the complaint submission as opposed to the 36 hours proposed by the Government.

LocalCircles will share the findings of the survey with the Ministry of Electronics and IT so they understand the magnitude of fake videos as well as the public expectations on deepfake video complaint redressal by platforms.