#FactCheck - Out-of-Context Clip of PM Modi Misused to Claim He Insulted India

Introduction

Over-the-Top (OTT) streaming platforms have become a significant part of Indian entertainment consumption, offering users the ability to watch films, web series, and short-format videos directly online. These platforms operate on a subscription-based model, allowing for creative freedom, but they also lack clear accountability. On certain platforms, some content has been criticised for focusing on sensational or sexually explicit themes, particularly targeting young viewers seeking risqué entertainment. Such applications lack strong age verification mechanisms and offer ‘user access’ with minimal restrictions, which raises serious concerns about exposure to obscene content. This has triggered serious concerns among regulators, civil society organisations, advocacy and parental groups about the accessibility of such material and its potential influence, especially on minors.

Blocking order issued by the Ministry of Broadcasting and Information (MIB)

On 23rd July 2025, the Government of India, invoking powers under the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, has issued a ‘blocking order’ against 25 OTT platforms. A total of 26 websites and 14 mobile applications of the said OTT platforms were on the list, including several prominent OTT platforms for alleged distribution of obscene, vulgar and pornographic content in some cases.  This regulatory action follows previous statutory advice and repeated warnings to the platforms in question, some of which continued to operate through new domains and disobeyed Indian laws and regulations. 

This action was taken by the Ministry of Broadcasting and Information (MIB) in consultation with Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Department of Legal Affairs, industry bodies and experts in the field of women rights and child rights.

The list of OTT Platforms covered under the said ‘Blocking Order’

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The list includes - Big Shots App, Desiflix, Boomex, NeonX VIP, Navarasa Lite, Gulab App, Kangan App, Bull App, ShowHit, Jalva App, Wow Entertainment, Look Entertainment, Hitprime, Fugi, Feneo, ShowX, Sol Talkies, Adda TV, ALTT, HotX VIP, Hulchul App, MoodX, Triflicks, Ullu, and Mojflix. 

The government has explicitly directed Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) to disable or remove public access to these websites within India.

Recent Judicial and Centre’s Interventions

• To refresh the memory, last year in March 2024, the Ministry of I&B blocked 18 OTT Platforms for Obscene and Vulgar Content. 
• In April 2025, the Apex Court of India heard a petition on the prohibition of streaming of sexually explicit content on over-the-top (OTT) and social media platforms. In response to the petition, the Apex court stated, ‘It's not our domain, the centre has to take action and highlighted the need for executive action in the matter. The apex court has also issued notice to the Centre, OTT platforms, as well as social media platforms in response to a petition seeking a ban on sexually explicit content. (Uday Mahurkar & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors. [WP(C) 313/2025])
• The following recent blocking order dated 23rd July 2025 by the Ministry of I&B is a welcome and commendable step that reflects the government’s firm stance against illicit content on OTT platforms. Kangana Ranaut, Actress and politician, while speaking to a news agency, has appreciated the government's move to ban OTT platforms such as Ullu, ALTT, and Desiflix for showing soft porn content.

Conclusion

The centre’s intervention sends a clear message that OTT platforms cannot remain exempt from accountability. The move is a response to the growing concern of harms caused by unregulated digital content and non-compliances by the platforms, particularly in relation to illicit material, and broader violations of decency laws in India. However, the enforcement must now go beyond issuing orders and require a robust measurable compliance framework for OTT platforms. 

In today’s fast-paced era, when subscription-based content platforms place vast libraries at users' fingertips, the government's action is necessary and proportionate, marking a decisive step toward safer digital and healthy regulated environments.

References

• https://www.newsonair.gov.in/govt-bans-25-ott-websites-apps-over-vulgar-and-pornographic-content/
• https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/big-shots-ullu-altt-desiflix-mojflix-and-20-other-ott-apps-banned-what-governments-ban-order-says/articleshow/122918803.cms
• https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/centre-bans-ott-platforms-ullu-altt-desiflix-for-obscene-content-8947100
• https://foxmandal.in/News/sc-takes-note-of-obscenity-plea-issues-notice-to-ott-platforms/
• https://www.morungexpress.com/kangana-ranaut-calls-banning-ott-platforms-for-soft-porn-content-a-much-appreciated-move
• https://www.livemint.com/news/india/do-something-supreme-court-to-centre-ott-platforms-on-obscene-content-pil-netflix-amazon-prime-ullu-altt-x-facebook-11745823594972.html

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Introduction

AI-generated fake videos are proliferating on the Internet indeed becoming more common by the day. There is a use of sophisticated AI algorithms that help manipulate or generate multimedia content such as videos, audio, and images. As a result, it has become increasingly difficult to differentiate between genuine, altered, or fake content, and these AI-manipulated videos look realistic. A recent study has shown that 98% of deepfake-generated videos have adult content featuring young girls, women, and children, with India ranking 6th among the nations that suffer from misuse of deepfake technology. This practice has dangerous consequences and could harm an individual's reputation, and criminals could use this technology to create a false narrative about a candidate or a political party during elections.

The working of deepfake videos is based on algorithms that refine the fake content, and the generators are built and trained in such a way as to get the desired output. The process is repeated several times, allowing the generator to improve the content until it seems realistic, making it more flawless. Deepfake videos are created by specific approaches some of them are: -

• Lip syncing: This is the most common technique used in deepfake. Here, the voice recordings of the video, make it appear as to what was originally said by the person appearing in the video.
• Audio deepfake:  For Audio-generated deepfake, a generative adversarial network (GAN) is used to colon a person’s voice, based on the vocal patterns and refine it till the desired output is generated.

• Deepfake has become so serious that the technology could be used by bad actors or by cyber-terrorist squads to set their Geo-political agendas.  Looking at the present situation in the past few the number of cases has just doubled, targeting children, women and popular faces. 

• Greater Risk: in the last few years the cases of deep fake have risen. by the end of the year 2022, the number of cases has risen to 96% against women and children according to a survey.
• Every 60 seconds, a deepfake pornographic video is created, now quicker and more affordable than ever, it takes less than 25 minutes and costs using just one clean face image.  
• The connection to deepfakes is that people can become targets of "revenge porn" without the publisher having sexually explicit photographs or films of the victim. They may be made using any number of random pictures or images collected from the internet to obtain the same result. This means that almost everyone who has taken a selfie or shared a photograph of oneself online faces the possibility of a deepfake being constructed in their image.

Deepfake-related security concerns

As deepfakes proliferate, more people are realising that they can be used not only to create non-consensual porn but also as part of disinformation and fake news campaigns with the potential to sway elections and rekindle frozen or low-intensity conflicts.

Deepfakes have three security implications: at the international level, strategic deepfakes have the potential to destroy precarious peace; at the national level, deepfakes may be used to unduly influence elections, and the political process, or discredit opposition, which is a national security concern, and at the personal level, the scope for using Women suffer disproportionately from exposure to sexually explicit content as compared to males, and they are more frequently threatened. 

Policy Consideration

Looking at the present situation where the cases of deepfake are on the rise against women and children, the policymakers need to be aware that deepfakes are utilized for a variety of valid objectives, including artistic and satirical works, which policymakers should be aware of. Therefore, simply banning deepfakes is not a way consistent with fundamental liberties. One conceivable legislative option is to require a content warning or disclaimer. Deepfake is an advanced technology and misuse of deepfake technology is a crime.

What are the existing rules to combat deepfakes?

It's worth noting that both the IT Act of 2000 and the IT Rules of 2021 require social media intermediaries to remove deep-fake videos or images as soon as feasible. Failure to follow these guidelines can result in up to three years in jail and a Rs 1 lakh fine. Rule 3(1)(b)(vii) requires social media intermediaries to guarantee that its users do not host content that impersonates another person, and Rule 3(2)(b) requires such content to be withdrawn within 24 hours of receiving a complaint. Furthermore, the government has stipulated that any post must be removed within 36 hours of being published online. Recently government has also issued an advisory to social media intermediaries to identify misinformation and deepfakes.

Conclusion

It is important to foster ethical and responsible consumption of technology. This can only be achieved by creating standards for both the creators and users, educating individuals about content limits, and providing information. Internet-based platforms should also devise techniques to deter the uploading of inappropriate information. We can reduce the negative and misleading impacts of deepfakes by collaborating and ensuring technology can be used in a better manner.  

References

• https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/parenting/moments/how-social-media-scandals-like-deepfake-impact-minors-and-students-mental-health/articleshow/105168380.cms?from=mdr
• https://www.aa.com.tr/en/science-technology/deepfake-technology-putting-children-at-risk-say-experts/2980880
• https://wiisglobal.org/deepfakes-as-a-security-issue-why-gender-matters/

Introduction

Cybersecurity threats have been globally prevalent for quite some time now. All nations, organisations and individuals stand at risk from new and emerging potential cybersecurity threats, putting finances, privacy, data, identities and sometimes human lives at stake. The latest Data Breach Report by IBM revealed that nearly a staggering 83% of organisations experienced more than one data breach instance during 2022. As per the 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report by Verizon, the total number of global ransomware attacks surged by 13%, indicating a concerning rise equal to the last five years combined. The statistics clearly showcase how the future is filled with potential threats as we advance further into the digital age.  

Who is Okta?  

Okta is a secure identity cloud that links all your apps, logins and devices into a unified digital fabric. Okta has been in existence since 2009 and is based out of San Francisco, USA and has been one of the leading service providers in the States. The advent of the company led to early success based on the high-quality services and products introduced by them in the market. Although Okta is not as well-known as the big techs, it plays a vital role in big organisations' cybersecurity systems. More than 18,000 users of the identity management company's products rely on it to give them a single login for the several platforms that a particular business uses. For instance, Zoom leverages Okta to provide "seamless" access to its Google Workspace, ServiceNow, VMware, and Workday systems with only one login, thus showing how Okta is fundamental in providing services to ease the human effort on various platforms. In the digital age, such organisations are instrumental in leading the pathway to innovation and entrepreneurship. 

The Okta Breach

The last Friday, 20 October, Okta reported a hack of its support system, leading to chaos and havoc within the organisation. The result of the hack can be seen in the market in the form of the massive losses incurred by Okta in the stock exchange. 

Since the attack, the company's market value has dropped by more than $2 billion. The well-known incident is the most recent in a long line of events connected to Okta or its products, which also includes a wave of casino invasions that caused days-long disruptions to hotel rooms in Las Vegas, casino giants Caesars and MGM were both affected by hacks as reported earlier this year. Both of those attacks, targeting MGM and Caesars’ Okta installations, used a sophisticated social engineering attack that went through IT help desks.

What can be done to prevent this? 

Cybersecurity attacks on organisations have become a very common occurrence ever since the pandemic and are rampant all across the globe. Major big techs have been successful in setting up SoPs, safeguards and precautionary measures to protect their companies and their digital assets and interests. However, the Medium, Mico and small business owners are the most vulnerable to such unknown high-intensity attacks. The governments of various nations have established Computer Emergency Response Teams to monitor and investigate such massive-scale cyberattacks both on organisations and individuals. The issue of cybersecurity can be better addressed by inculcating the following aspects into our daily digital routines: 

• Team Upskilling: Organisations need to be critical in creating upskilling avenues for employees pertaining to cybersecurity and threats. These campaigns should be run periodically, focusing on both the individual and organisational impact of any threat.  
• Reporting Mechanism for Employees and Customers: Business owners and organisations need to deploy robust, sustainable and efficient reporting mechanisms for both employees well as customers. The mechanism will be fundamental in pinpointing the potential grey areas and threats in the cyber security mechanism as well. A dedicated reporting mechanism is now a mandate by a lot of governments around the world as it showcases transparency and natural justice in terms of legal remedies.  
• Preventive, Precautionary and Recovery Policies: Organisations need to create and deploy respective preventive, precautionary and recovery policies in regard to different forms of cyber attacks and threats. This will be helpful in a better understanding of threats and faster response in cases of emergencies and attacks. These policies should be updated regularly, keeping in mind the emerging technologies. Efficient deployment of the policies can be done by conducting mock drills and threat assessment activities.  
• Global Dialogue Forums: It is pertinent for organisations and the industry to create a community of cyber security enthusiasts from different and diverse backgrounds to address the growing issues of cyberspace; this can be done by conducting and creating global dialogue forums, which will act as the beacon of sharing best practices, advisories, threat assessment reports, potential threats and attacks thus establishing better inter-agency and inter-organisation communication and coordination.  
• Data Anonymisation and Encryption: Organisations should have data management/processing policies in place for transparency and should always store data in an encrypted and anonymous manner, thus creating a blanket of safety in case of any data breach.
• Critical infrastructure: The industry leaders should push the limits of innovation by setting up state-of-the-art critical cyber infrastructure to create employment, innovation, and entrepreneurship spirit among the youth, thus creating a whole new generation of cyber-ready professionals and dedicated netizens. Critical infrastructures are essential in creating a safe, secure, resilient and secured digital ecosystem. 
• Cysec Audits & Sandboxing: All organisations should establish periodic routines of Cybersecurity audits, both by internal and external entities, to find any issue/grey area in the security systems. This will create a more robust and adaptive cybersecurity mechanism for the organisation and its employees. All tech developing and testing companies need to conduct proper sandboxing exercises for all or any new tech/software creation to identify its shortcomings and flaws. 

‍Conclusion 

In view of the rising cybersecurity attacks on organisations, especially small and medium companies, a lot has been done, and a lot more needs to be done to establish an aspect of safety and security for companies, employees and customers. The impact of the Okta breach very clearly show how cyber attacks can cause massive repercussion for any organisation in the form of monetary loss, loss of business, damage to reputation and a lot of other factors. One should take such instances as examples and learnings for ourselves and prepare our organisation to combat similar types of threats, ultimately working towards preventing these types of threats and eradicating the influence of bad actors from our digital ecosystem altogether. 

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References: 

• https://hbr.org/2023/05/the-devastating-business-impacts-of-a-cyber-breach#:~:text=In%202022%2C%20the%20global%20average,legal%20fees%2C%20and%20audit%20fees.
• https://www.okta.com/intro-to-okta/#:~:text=Okta%20is%20a%20secure%20identity,use%20to%20work%2C%20instantly%20available.
• https://www.cyberpeace.org/resources/blogs/mgm-resorts-shuts-down-it-systems-after-cyberattack

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