Virat Kohli’s deepfake video viral: Star batter’s morphed footage used to promote betting apps

Superstar cricketer Virat Kohli is the latest celebrity to join the deepfake victims list. A morphed video of Kohli has been doing rounds on social media in which the batter could be seen promoting an online betting app in his AI-generated voice. The video is actually a dubbed version of Kohli’s sit-down interview with Graham Bensinger from 2018. The misleading video has created a stir among social media users.

Kohli’s interview footage was morphed and synced with an AI-generated voice. The misleading video soon caught attention on social media and was flagged for its credibility. According to the details in the video, Kohli earned 81,000 rupees by investing just Rs 1000 within 3 days.

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“2000% win is assured. With this app, you can earn more money by spending less,” Kohli’s AI-generated voice said in the video.

Technology was put to misuse to alter and fabricate Kohli promoting an online betting app. Such attempts can have a dangerous effect as Kohli’s stardom and influence has an impact on millions of his fans across the globe.

EARLIER SACHIN, NOW KOHLI

Earlier, India’s legendary batter, Sachin Tendulkar, became a victim of Deepfake videos. In a fake video of Sachin, he was seen promoting an online betting app. With the emergence of Artificial Intelligence, several fake videos of the celebrities have emerged in the recent times.

Kohli withdrew from the 5-match Test series against England, citing personal reasons. Rajat Patidar was named as his replacement for the first 2 Test matches, and he retained his place in the squad for the remainder of the series. The BCCI had asked to not speculate on the reasons behind Kohli’s absence. In fact, BCCI secretary Jay Shah, supported Kohli for taking personal leave and missing out on the series against England.

“If somebody is asking for personal leave in 15 years, then it is his right to ask for it. Virat is not that kind of player that he would ask for a leave without any reason. We must back and trust our players. We will talk about Virat later,” Shah said while speaking to the media ahead of the 3rd Test in Rajkot.