Fact Check: Rashmika Mandanna’s Viral Video Near A Waterfall Is A Deepfake

Months after a deepfake video of Rashmika Mandanna went viral on social media, pushing her to file an FIR against the perpetrator, another deepfake clip of the actress surfaced online on Sunday. It showed Rashmika dressed in a red bikini in the backdrop of a waterfall. The real video featured an Instagram model, whose face has been morphed into Rashmika by using AI technology. 

Rashmika Mandanna’s deepfake video goes viral

Daniela Villareal, a content creator and model from Columbia, posted a video of herself posing in a strapless bikini next to a waterfall on Instagram in April 2024. In the clip, she was seen striking different poses and grinning broadly at the camera. But a few days ago, Rashmika's face was substituted for the model's, and the video quickly went viral on social media.

Rashmika Mandanna’s reaction to deepfake video

This is not the first time Rashmika has been targeted with these deepfake videos. Previously in November 2023, another clip with the morphed face of the actress circulated online. Reacting to the video, Rashmika had posted a note on her Instagram story saying, “"I feel really hurt to share this and have to talk about the deepfake video of me being spread online. Something like this is honestly extremely scary, not only for me, but also for each one of us who today is vulnerable to so much harm because of how technology is being misused."

"Today, as a woman and as an actor, I am thankful for my family, friends and well wishers who are my protection and support system. But if this happened to me when I was in school or college, I genuinely can’t imagine how could I ever tackle this. We need to address this as a community and with urgency before more of us are affected by such identity theft," she added.