Cyber Security

Deepfakes and elections: what Indian voters should watch for

A calm, technical explanation of what deepfakes can and cannot do in an Indian political context, and how to spot the obvious tells.

Bharat AI Sathi Editorial14 May 2026 6 min read

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Deepfakes and elections: what Indian voters should watch for — Bharat AI Sathi

AI-generated audio and video of politicians will not go away. Here's how to think clearly about it.

What deepfakes are good at Making a real voice say new words, especially in short clips. Convincingly lip-syncing existing footage to new audio. Producing fake screenshots of chats.

What they're still bad at Long, unbroken video without artefacts. Consistent hand and eye movement. Correctly rendering complex Indic scripts in the frame.

How to verify Reverse image and video search. Check whether major news outlets carried the same clip. Look for the original upload source. Be sceptical of clips that arrive via WhatsApp forward from a single unknown number.

Report Forward suspected deepfakes of public figures to the Fact Check Unit of PIB and to the platform. Do not re-share for outrage.

Editorial note. This article was written by the Bharat AI Sathi editorial team following our Editorial Policy and AI Usage Policy. Spot a factual error? Email editorial@bharataisathi.com.

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Deepfakes and elections: what Indian voters should watch for

What deepfakes are good at Making a real voice say new words, especially in short clips. Convincingly lip-syncing existing footage to new audio. Producing fake screenshots of chats.

What they're still bad at Long, unbroken video without artefacts. Consistent hand and eye movement. Correctly rendering complex Indic scripts in the frame.

How to verify Reverse image and video search. Check whether major news outlets carried the same clip. Look for the original upload source. Be sceptical of clips that arrive via WhatsApp forward from a single unknown number.

Report Forward suspected deepfakes of public figures to the Fact Check Unit of PIB and to the platform. Do not re-share for outrage.

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