Hyderabad Cybercrime Police have booked Meta’s India head, Arun Srinivas, along with several social media accounts, over allegedly morphed and derogatory content targeting PM Modi during the recent CJP-led agitation over the NEET paper leak. Cases have been registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the IT Act, based on complaints from businessman S Aravind Reddy and BJP Telangana social media committee member T Saikiran Goud.
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What The Complainants Alleged
Goud’s complaint, filed on July 29, stated that while browsing social media he came across reels and posts he described as derogatory toward the Prime Minister and prejudicial to national integrity. He submitted 20 Facebook and Instagram URLs and sought action against both the account operators and Meta for hosting the content. Reddy’s complaint alleged that certain Instagram handles circulated digitally manipulated videos and images of Modi, along with former Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and US President Donald Trump, describing them as obscene and misleading. The content, according to the complaints, appeared to have been created or altered using artificial intelligence.
Meta Asked to Explain Content Safeguards
Police have separately asked Meta to explain the safeguards and monitoring systems it uses to detect manipulated and fraudulent content on its platforms. That inquiry is tied to a related probe into alleged investment scam advertisements and is distinct from the two FIRs concerning the Modi content. The cases add to a string of recent Indian police actions against deepfake content involving political leaders, as authorities continue pressing platforms over AI-generated misinformation ahead of an already charged political climate around the NEET protests.
