Asian movie stars and women ‘likely to be deepfakes targets’
The explosion in generative AI tools such as Midjourney, Stable Diffusion and DALL-E has made it easy and cheap to create and circulate convincing deepfakes
By Eastern Eye Dec 21, 2023
THERE was the Bollywood star in skin-tight lycra, the Bangladeshi politician filmed in a bikini and the young Pakistani woman snapped with a man.
None was real, but all three images were credible enough to unleash lust, vitriol – and even allegedly a murder – underlining the sophistication of generative artificial intelligence, and the threats it poses to women across Asia.
The two videos and the photograph were deepfake and went viral in a vibrant social mediascape that is struggling to come to grips with the technology that has the power to create convincing copies that can upend real lives.
“We need to address this as a community and with urgency before more of us are affected by such identity theft,” Indian actress Rashmika Mandanna said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that has garnered more than 6.2 million views.
Deepika Padukone
She is not the only Bollywood actress to be cloned and attacked on social media, with top stars Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt and Deepika Padukone also targeted with deepfakes.
The lycra video, said Mandanna, was “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.”
While digitally manipulated images and videos of women were once easy to spot, usually lurking in the dark corners of the internet, the explosion in generative AI tools such as Midjourney, Stable Diffusion and DALL-E has made it easy and cheap to create and circulate convincing deepfakes. More than 90 per cent of deepfake videos online are pornographic, according to tech experts, and most are of women.
While there are no separate data for south Asian countries, digital rights experts said the issue is particularly challenging in conservative societies, where women have long been harassed online and abuse has gone largely unpunished.
Social media firms are struggling to keep up.
Google’s YouTube and Meta Platforms – which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – have updated their policies, requiring creators and advertisers to label all AI-generated content.
But the onus is largely on victims – usually girls and women – to take action, said Rumman Chowdhury, an AI expert at Harvard University who previously worked at reducing harms on X.
“Generative AI will regrettably supercharge online harassment and malicious content ... and women are the canaries in the coal mine. They are the ones impacted first, the ones on whom the technologies are tested,” she said.
“It is an indication to the rest of the world to pay attention, because it’s coming for everyone,” Chowdhury told a recent UN briefing.
As deepfakes have proliferated worldwide, there are concerns – and rising instances – of their use in harassment, scams and sextortion.
Regulations have been slow to follow.
The US Executive Order on AI touches on dangers posed by deepfakes, while the EU’s proposed AI act will require greater transparency and disclosure from providers.
Last month, 18 countries – including the US and Britain – unveiled a nonbinding agreement on keeping the wider public safe from AI misuse, including deepfakes.
Among Asian nations, China requires providers to use watermarks and report illegal deepfakes, while South Korea has made it illegal to distribute deepfakes that harm “public interest”, with potential imprisonment or fines.
India is taking a tough stance as it drafts new rules. Information technology (IT) minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said social media firms must remove deepfakes within 36 hours of receiving a notification, or risk losing their safe-harbour status that protects them from liability for third-party content.
But the focus should be on “mitigating and preventing incidents, rather than reactive responses,” said Malavika Rajkumar at the advocacy group IT for Change. While the Indian government has said it may force providers and platforms to disclose the identity of deepfake creators, “striking a balance between privacy protection and preventing abuse is key,” Rajkumar added.
Deepfakes of women and other vulnerable communities such as LGBTQ+ people – especially sexual images and videos – can be particularly dangerous in deeply religious or conservative societies, human rights activists said.
In Bangladesh, deepfake videos of female opposition politicians – Rumin Farhana in a bikini and Nipun Roy in a swimming pool – have emerged ahead of an election on January 7.
And last month, an 18-year-old woman was allegedly shot dead by her father and uncle in a so-called honour killing in Pakistan’s remote Kohistan province, after a photograph of her with a man went viral. Police say the image was doctored.
Rashmika Mandanna
Shahzadi Rai, a transgender member of Pakistan’s Karachi Municipal Council, who has been the target of abusive trolling with deepfake images, has said they could exacerbate online gender-based violence and “seriously jeopardise” her career.
Even if audiences are able to distinguish between a real image and a deepfake, the woman’s integrity is questioned, and her credibility may be damaged, said Nighat Dad, founder of the non-profit Digital Rights Foundation in Pakistan. “The threat to women’s privacy and safety is deeply concerning,” she added, particularly as disinformation campaigns gain steam ahead of an election scheduled for February 8.
“Deepfakes are creating an increasingly unsafe online environment for women, even non-public figures, and may discourage women from participating in politics and online spaces.”
In several countries including India, entrenched gender biases already affect the ability of girls and young women to use the internet, a recent report found.
Deepfakes of powerful Bollywood stars only underline the risk that AI poses to all women, said Rajkumar.
“Deepfakes have affected women and vulnerable communities for a long time. They have gained widespread attention only after popular actresses were targeted,” she said.
The heightened focus should now push “platforms, policymakers, and society at large to create a safer and more inclusive online environment,” she added. (Thomson Reuters Foundation)
Workers are engaged at their sewing stations in a garment factory in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 9, 2025. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
BANGLADESH, the world's second-biggest garment manufacturer, aims to strike a trade deal with the US before Donald Trump's punishing tariffs kick in next week, said the country's top commerce official.
Dhaka is proposing to buy Boeing planes and boost imports of US wheat, cotton and oil in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, which Trump used as the reason for imposing painful levies in his "Liberation Day" announcement.
"We have finalised a draft reciprocal trade agreement," Mahbubur Rahman said on Wednesday (3), adding the government was "hopeful of reaching a win-win agreement".
Rahman said a meeting between officials from both countries was slated for July 8, with the US representing 20 per cent of Bangladesh's ready-made garments exports.
Textile and garment production accounts for about 80 per cent of exports in Bangladesh and the industry has been rebuilding after it was hit hard in a student-led revolution that toppled the government last year.
Trump hit Bangladesh with 37 per cent tariffs in his April 2 announcement, which is more than double the 16 per cent already placed on cotton products.
He suspended the tolls' introduction until July 9, as he did with other global trading partners, though a baseline 10 per cent levy was kept in place.
Bangladesh exported $8.36 billion worth of goods to the US in 2024, while imports from there amounted to $2.21bn, according to the Bangladesh Bank and the National Board of Revenue.
"As part of the initiative to reduce the trade gap, the government already decided to import a large volume of wheat, purchasing 14 aircraft from US manufacturer Boeing, buying cotton and more oil and gas from the US farms," Rahman said.
He did not give further details on the exact timing or extent of the proposed deals, but said the government had held around 28 meetings and document exchanges in a bid to reach an agreement.
Interim leader Muhammed Yunus spoke to US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Monday (30) and told him Dhaka was "working with your officials to finalise a package of measures to effectively respond to president Trump's trade agenda".
Mahmud Hasan Khan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the national platform of the garment makers, expressed concerns about any deal.
"The already enacted additional 10 per cent tariff is hitting our exporters, and if it goes further, we might lose US buyers," he warned.
But Mohammad Hatem, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said he was optimistic.
"We are hopeful of a positive outcome on the US tariff before July 9," he said.
"There will be a temporary problem if the US administration does not revise the tariff. But it will largely and ultimately hit the US buyers, as they would have to buy goods at higher prices."
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The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
THE COST of UK government borrowing fell on Thursday, partially reversing the rise seen after Chancellor Rachel Reeves became emotional during Prime Minister’s Questions.
The yield on 10-year government bonds dropped to 4.55 per cent, down from 4.61 per cent the previous day. The pound also recovered slightly to $1.3668 (around £1.00), though it did not regain all its earlier losses.
The movement followed comments from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who told BBC Radio 4's Political Thinking with Nick Robinson that he worked “in lockstep” with Reeves and said she was “doing an excellent job as chancellor.”
Analysts told the BBC that markets appeared to back Reeves, with concerns that her departure could lead to a weakening of fiscal discipline. “It looks to me like this is a rare example of financial markets actually enhancing the career prospects of a politician,” said Will Walker Arnott of Charles Stanley. “If the chancellor goes then any fiscal discipline would follow her out the door and that would mean bigger deficits.”
Mohamed El-Erian of Allianz warned that risk premiums may persist. “I suspect that we will see some moderation, but we will not go back to where we were 24 hours ago,” he said.
Reeves, who became tearful during PMQs after a U-turn on planned welfare reforms that left a £5bn gap in her financial plans, said on Thursday she had been upset due to a personal issue. A Treasury spokesperson also confirmed it was a personal matter.
Reeves told the BBC that the welfare changes would be reflected in the Budget and reaffirmed her commitment to fiscal rules. Jane Foley of Rabobank said Reeves now faces difficult choices but added, “investors do place a lot of store in political stability.”
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Modi shakes hands with Trump before a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Getty Images)
THE US could reach a trade deal with India that would help American companies compete more easily in the Indian market and reduce tariff rates, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday. However, he cast doubt on a similar deal with Japan.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he believed India was ready to lower trade barriers, potentially paving the way for an agreement that would avoid the 26 per cent tariff rate he had announced on April 2 and paused until July 9.
“Right now, India doesn’t accept anybody in. I think India is going to do that, if they do that, we’re going to have a deal for less, much less tariffs,” he said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also indicated that a deal with India was close. “We are very close with India,” Bessent told Fox News, saying it could help lower tariffs on US imports and prevent a sharp rise in levies.
Indian officials extended their Washington visit through Monday to try to reach an agreement with the Trump administration and resolve remaining concerns, Indian government sources told Reuters.
A White House official familiar with the talks said the Trump administration was prioritising trade negotiations with countries including India over Japan in the lead-up to the July 9 deadline.
Tariff deadline nears
India is among several countries negotiating with the US to avoid a steep tariff increase when the current 90-day pause ends. Without an agreement, India’s reciprocal tariff rate could rise to 27 per cent from the existing 10 per cent.
Talks between the US and India have faced hurdles over differences on import duties for auto components, steel, and agricultural goods.
“We are in the middle — hopefully more than the middle — of a very intricate trade negotiation,” Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said at an event in New York on Monday.
“Obviously, my hope would be that we bring it to a successful conclusion. I cannot guarantee it, because there’s another party to that discussion,” Jaishankar said. He added that there “will have to be give and take” and both sides needed to find common ground.
Exporters in India are cautiously hopeful that a deal could be reached before the deadline. Ajay Sahai, Director General of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, told AFP that exporters were “optimistic” about a possible bilateral agreement. He said it remained “quite a fluid situation” and added, “The feedback which I am getting suggests positive developments either way — and we are hopeful.”
Exporters express concern
Some of India’s major exports such as electronics, gems, jewellery, and shrimp could be impacted by higher tariffs. India recorded a trade surplus of $45.7 billion with the United States last year.
KN Raghavan, Secretary General of the Seafood Exporters Association of India, said the industry was seeing “some amount of anxiety” but also had “more reason for hope.” He said a solution “appears to be in the anvil,” without giving further details.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had also said last month that a pact could be expected in the “not too distant future.” Trump echoed that sentiment on Tuesday, calling it “a different kind of a deal.”
“It’s going to be a deal where we’re able to go in and compete,” Trump said. “Right now, India doesn’t accept anybody in. I think India is going to do that, and if they do that, we’re going to have a deal for much less tariffs.”
Key sticking points
An Indian commerce ministry official told AFP that New Delhi was still pushing for relief from separate tariffs on steel and aluminium and greater access for exports such as textiles and footwear.
Disagreements also remain over US efforts to open up India’s agriculture sector. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Financial Express that she was eager for a deal. “I’d love to have an agreement, a big, good, beautiful one; why not?” she said in an interview published Monday.
However, she noted that “agriculture and dairy” were “very big red lines” for India.
Ajay Srivastava of the Global Trade Research Initiative said in a recent note that a smaller agreement was more likely. He suggested India could cut tariffs on certain industrial goods and allow limited access for US agricultural produce in exchange for the US dropping the 26 per cent tariff.
Srivastava also warned that talks “may collapse” if Washington continues pressing India to open its core agriculture sectors or allow genetically modified products.
Raghavan said that if tariffs rise beyond 25 per cent, US buyers may turn to other sources. “Currently, exporters believe they can manage with a 10 per cent tariff, as it can be absorbed. But if it goes back up to 25 per cent to 30 per cent levels, we could see American buyers finding alternative sources,” he said.
Trump casts doubt on Japan deal
While optimism remains on the India front, Trump expressed scepticism about reaching a trade deal with Japan. Bessent told Fox News that different countries had different priorities in the talks.
Trump said he was unlikely to extend the July 9 deadline and would proceed by sending letters notifying countries of the tariff rates they would face.
“We’ve dealt with Japan. I’m not sure we’re going to make a deal. I doubt it,” Trump said aboard Air Force One.
He suggested Japan could face tariffs of 30 per cent or 35 per cent on imports — well above the 24 per cent rate announced on April 2, which was paused until July 9.
Trump criticised Japan for refusing to accept US-grown rice while exporting millions of cars to the US. “So what I’m going to do, is I’ll write them a letter saying we thank you very much, and we know you can’t do the kind of things that we need, and therefore you pay a 30 per cent, 35 per cent or whatever the numbers that we determine,” he said.
So far, only the UK has reached a limited trade deal with the Trump administration, agreeing to a 10 per cent tariff on many goods, including autos, in exchange for special access for aircraft engines and British beef.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Customers shop for 'Kolhapuri' sandals, an Indian ethnic footwear, at a store in New Delhi, India, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
INDIAN footwear sellers and artisans are tapping into nationalist pride stoked by the Prada 'sandal scandal' in a bid to boost sales of ethnic slippers with history dating back to the 12th century, raising hopes of reviving a struggling craft.
Sales are surging over the past week for the 'Kolhapuri' sandals that have garnered global attention after Prada sparked a controversy by showcasing similar designs in Milan, without initially crediting the footwear's origins.
After viral photos from a fashion show drew criticism from Indian artisans who make the sandals - named after a historic city in Maharashtra state - Prada was forced to acknowledge that its new open-toe footwear was inspired by ancient Indian designs.
"Prada 0: Kolhapur 1," said an Instagram post by e-commerce website Shopkop, whose founder Rahul Parasu Kamble's open letter to Prada pointing out the footwear is "soaked in tradition" was reshared 36,000 times on social media.
"I saw the controversy as a way to promote Kolhapuri," said Kamble, 33, who has seen sales of sandals he sources from local artisans touch 50,000 rupees ($584) in three days, five times the average.
Social media has been abuzz in recent days with criticism and sarcastic memes, with politicians, artisans and a trade body demanding due credit to Indian heritage.
Prada has said it will arrange follow-up meetings with artisans. In a statement on Tuesday (1), it added the Italian group intends to make the sandals in India in collaboration with local manufacturers, if it commercialises them.
India's luxury market is small but growing, with the rich splurging on Lamborghini cars and pricey watches. Prada does not have a single retail store in India and its products are usually reserved for the super rich - its men's leather sandals start retailing at $844 (£667), while Kolhapuris can be priced as low as $12 (£8.92).
But linking of the Prada name to the Kolhapuri sandals, which are made by around 7,000 artisans, is providing a business opportunity for some.
Mumbai-based Ira Soles is running new Facebook and Instagram advertisements which proclaim its $32 (£24) "Tan Handcrafted Kolhapuris just walked the ramp at Prada ... Limited stock. Global spotlight. Own a piece of what the world is applauding.".
E-commerce website Niira is offering up to 50 per cent discounts on its Kolhapuri slippers it says are "rooted in tradition". Its sales of $18 (£13.5) sandals, that looked like the one Prada showcased in Milan, have tripled, founder Nishant Raut said.
"Why can't an Indian Kolhapuri brand become as big as a Birkenstock," he said.
Handmade in small factories, Kolhapuri sandals, or chappals as they are called in Hindi, are often paired with Indian attire. Similar designs are sold in big outlets of Bata India and Metro Brands, and also on Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart.
In 2021, India's government said the sandals could achieve $1 billion (£728m) a year in exports. Though latest estimates are not available, artisans say the business has struggled as consumers increasingly opt for more fashionable, upmarket footwear.
Still, the Prada controversy is breathing new life into a craft that Lalit Gandhi, president of Maharashtra's main industry lobby group, says is "a dying art". Gandhi said he is in talks with Prada to develop a co-branded, limited-edition sandal.
Kolhapur craftsmen Ashok Doiphode, 50, is pinning hopes on a Prada boost. He hand-stitches sandals for nine hours daily but can sell a pair for just Rs 400 (£3.5)
"If big companies like Prada come, craftsman like me can get a good price."
(Reuters)
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The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
THE UK economy expanded at its fastest pace in a year during the first quarter of 2025, driven by a rise in home purchases ahead of a tax deadline and higher manufacturing output before the introduction of new US import tariffs.
Gross domestic product rose by 0.7 per cent in the January-to-March period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, confirming its earlier estimate. This was the strongest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2024.
Growth for March was revised up to 0.4 per cent from a previous reading of 0.2 per cent, according to the ONS.
The increase followed growth of just 0.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024. However, GDP fell by 0.3 per cent in April from March, a decline affected by one-off factors.
Outlook for Q2 and pressure on budget targets
The Bank of England expects the economy to grow by about 0.25 per cent in the second quarter of 2025.
Finance minister Rachel Reeves is hoping for stronger growth to reduce pressure to raise taxes again later this year in order to meet her budget goals.
Thomas Pugh, chief economist at RSM UK, said weak consumer spending and hiring data in recent weeks likely reflected a short-term reaction to an employer tax increase and the US tariffs, many of which have now been suspended.
"Now that uncertainty has started to recede, consumer confidence is rebounding, and business surveys point to the worst of the labour market pain being behind us," Pugh said.
A separate survey published on Monday showed employer confidence in Britain had reached a nine-year high, with businesses more optimistic about the economy.
Interest rate cuts expected; energy prices a risk
The Bank of England is expected to cut interest rates two more times in 2025, which could support household spending.
However, a renewed rise in energy prices caused by further conflict in the Middle East could add pressure to the already slow-growing economy.
According to Monday’s ONS data, household expenditure grew by 0.4 per cent in the first quarter, revised up from an initial estimate of 0.2 per cent. The increase was led by spending on housing, household goods and services, and transport.
The UK property market saw increased activity ahead of the 31 March expiry of a tax break for some homebuyers.
Savings fall, manufacturing rises
Households drew from their reserves to support spending, with the saving ratio falling for the first time in two years. However, at 10.9 per cent, it remained high.
Manufacturing output rose by 1.1 per cent in the first quarter, ahead of the US tariff increase in April, compared with the final quarter of 2024.
The ONS also reported that the UK’s current account deficit widened to 23.46 billion pounds in the January-to-March period, up from just over 21 billion pounds in the previous quarter.