Manchu Vishnu calls for industry-wide system to tackle AI deepfakes, online sabotage

HYDERABAD: Movie Artistes Association (MAA) president Manchu Vishnu has called for a permanent industry-wide mechanism to tackle AI deepfakes, online impersonation and coordinated online campaigns targeting actors and films. Vishnu, responding to the recent controversy over an AI-manipulated video involving Janhvi Kapoor and Jr NTR, said the incident should not be treated in isolation. He also […] HYDERABAD: Movie Artistes Association (MAA) president Manchu Vishnu has called for a permanent industry-wide mechanism to tackle AI deepfakes, online impersonation and coordinated online campaigns targeting actors and films. Vishnu, responding to the recent controversy over an AI-manipulated video involving Janhvi Kapoor and Jr NTR, said the incident should not be treated in isolation. He also backed actor Ram Pothineni’s call for greater accountability for anonymous online identities. “The disturbing AI deepfake incident that has rightly angered our industry should not be looked at as an isolated incident. It is a warning,” Vishnu said in a post on X. Referring to Pothineni’s remark, “They’re faceless, so they’re fearless”, Vishnu said the actor’s suggestion of linking Aadhaar to online identities “deserves serious discussion”. Pothineni had said such a system could help curb online abuse. Vishnu raises concern over pre-release negativity Vishnu said freedom of expression must be protected but anonymity should not be used to abuse, defame, sexually violate or deliberately harm individuals. He also raised concerns about what he described as organised and targeted negativity against films, actors and filmmakers within the Telugu film industry. “A film should succeed or fail because audiences watch it and decide,” he said, adding that criticism, reviews, trolling and disagreement were part of cinema. However, he said coordinated campaigns aimed at damaging a film before its release could not be equated with criticism. Vishnu referred to actor Sundeep Kishan speaking publicly about targeted and paid negativity against him and his film before its release. He also cited the legal action involving Nani-starrer The Paradise. A Bengaluru court on September 19 granted interim relief to the makers of The Paradise and restrained the circulation of specific allegedly false and defamatory online content ahead of its September 24 release. The order did not cover bona fide reviews or genuine criticism. MAA compiling information on accounts and networks Vishnu said the impact of such campaigns extended beyond individual actors or films because productions involved years of work, hundreds of families and substantial financial investments. “Watch the film. Love it. Hate it. Criticise it brutally if you genuinely feel that way. But first, LET THE FILM RELEASE,” he said. He also expressed concern over fan groups targeting one another and anonymous accounts allegedly using actors’ photographs as profile pictures while engaging in conduct those actors may not endorse. As MAA president, Vishnu said the association was compiling information on accounts and networks repeatedly involved in targeted abuse and malicious campaigns, including accounts allegedly misusing actors’ photographs and identities. “This is NOT about stopping criticism. It is about accountability,” he said. Vishnu said deleting an offending video or filing an individual complaint would not be enough as AI technology develops rapidly. He urged the Telugu Film Chamber, Telugu Film Producers Council, MAA and other stakeholders to create a permanent mechanism to deal with AI deepfakes, impersonation, coordinated malicious campaigns and deliberate online sabotage. “Not another meeting that ends with a photograph. Not another phone call. A SYSTEM,” he said. Vishnu said competition between films was natural but the industry should not turn that competition into efforts to destroy one another. “We may compete every Friday. But we cannot spend the rest of the week trying to destroy one another,” he said, calling for audiences to decide the fate of films. ]]>