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Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

Rajasthan: a social-media influencer's video of a Ganga dip at Haridwar was manipulated with AI into an objectionable reel that went viral; she says she is mentally disturbed and cannot leave her house, and filed a cyber-crime complaint on 16 September 2026

A Rajasthan social-media influencer visited Haridwar with her family in June 2026 and on 6 June uploaded to Instagram a short video, recorded by relatives, of herself taking a dip in the Ganga at Har Ki Pauri wearing a salwar suit. About two months later she found that the video had been manipulated with AI into an objectionable version showing the same movements with her face and body portrayed 'in a shameful manner'; the fake reel went viral in the week before 20 September and drew objectionable comments and re-sharing. In a public appeal she asked whoever uploaded it to remove it, saying it was a matter of her dignity, that she was mentally very disturbed and had reached a point where she could not step out of her house. She filed a complaint with the cyber-crime police on 16 September 2026; the investigating Rajasthan Police Service officer said they were trying to identify who created and circulated the video and to have it removed, and that identifying the accused would take time. Dainik Bhaskar's English edition reported the case on 20 September in a 'Sunday Big Story' that does not name her.

AI system
Unidentified video tool
Occurred
16 Sept 2026
Reported
20 September 2026
Event location
India
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Psychological DistressReputational HarmExploitation or Abuse
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Everyday life · Privacy · Justice
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source
3 claims: 3 reported. 4 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: AI video manipulation (deepfake) tool, not identified

What Happened

Dainik Bhaskar English's Sunday Big Story of 20 September 2026 opens with the influencer's appeal: 'I am folding my hands and requesting everyone... please, whoever has uploaded my fake video, remove it. This is a matter of my dignity. I am mentally very disturbed. People are commenting... I have reached a point where I cannot even step out of my house.' She had visited Haridwar with her family in June and on 6 June uploaded a video of herself taking a dip in the Ganga at Har Ki Pauri in a salwar suit, recorded by family members. Around two months later she discovered that the original had been manipulated using AI to create and circulate an objectionable video showing the same movements, in which her face and body were portrayed 'in a shameful manner'; the fake went viral 'last week' and people posted objectionable comments under it and shared it. She filed a complaint with the cyber-crime police on 16 September. The investigating RPS officer said they were trying to establish who created and circulated the video and to remove it, and that the investigation would take time. The report pairs the case with the Alwar arrest in the Tamil Nadu chief-minister deepfake fraud (a separate published row) and a cyber expert's explanation of deepfakes; it does not name the influencer, her town or the platform on which the fake circulated beyond 'social media'.

Reported harm

The influencer says the AI-manipulated reel, its viral spread and the comments left her mentally very disturbed and unable to leave her house, and that it damaged her dignity (her statement as reported by Dainik Bhaskar English); the objectionable depiction itself is the abuse.

Outcome

Ongoing

Complaint filed with the cyber-crime police on 16 September 2026 (Dainik Bhaskar English). The investigating RPS officer said police were trying to establish who created and circulated the video and were working to have it removed from social media, and that completing the investigation and identifying the accused would take time. No arrest was reported by 21 September 2026. The record's incident date is the complaint date; the manipulated reel circulated in the preceding week and the original video dates from 6 June 2026.

What remains unknown

  • The tool used, the platform on which the fake circulated and who made it are not established.
  • The exact date the manipulated reel began circulating is given only as 'last week' relative to 20 September; the record uses the complaint date.
  • The victim's town and the police unit handling the complaint are not stated.
  • No arrest, takedown outcome or later coverage was found by 21 September 2026.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The report states that the original video 'was manipulated using AI to create and circulate an objectionable video showing the same movements' and describes the case as a deepfake; the investigating officer is quoted on the investigation, not on the tool. No forensic finding is reported and the tool is not identified.

3 claims: 3 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported On 6 June 2026 the influencer uploaded a video of herself taking a dip in the Ganga at Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar, wearing a salwar suit; about two months later she discovered that it had been manipulated with AI into an objectionable video showing the same movements, which went viral in the week before 20 September 2026.

Causal attribution. The victim's account as reported; the AI characterisation is the report's.

  • bhaskarenglish.in(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The victim had visited Haridwar with her family in June to take a dip in the Ganga. On June 6, she also uploaded a video on social media showing herself taking a dip in the river while wearing a salwar suit. The video was edited to create a fake version, which went viral last week'; 'Around two months later, she suddenly discovered that the original video had been manipulated using AI to create and circulate an objectionable video showing the same movements. Her face and body were portrayed in a shameful manner in the fake video.'
Reported She said the fake video caused her severe mental distress, that people were posting objectionable comments and sharing it, and that she had reached a point where she could not step out of her house; she appealed for its removal as a matter of her dignity.

Causal attribution. The victim's statement.

  • bhaskarenglish.in(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'I am mentally very disturbed. People are commenting... I have reached a point where I cannot even step out of my house.'; 'In a statement, the victim said the fake video had caused her severe mental distress. People were posting objectionable comments under the video, while several others were also sharing it.'
Reported She filed a complaint with the cyber-crime police on 16 September 2026; the investigating RPS officer said police were trying to establish who created and circulated the video and to have it removed, and that identifying the accused would take time.

Causal attribution. Police statement as quoted by the report.

  • bhaskarenglish.in(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The victim then filed a complaint with the cyber crime police on September 16.'; 'RPS officer Pallavi Gupta, who is investigating the case, said they are trying to establish who created and circulated the video. Efforts are also being made to remove it from social media. She said it would take time to complete the investigation and identify the accused.'

Sources

1 source inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read live in English on 2026-09-21 (HTTP 200; published 2026-09-20 06:00 IST; Dainik Bhaskar English, Rajasthan local news, 'Sunday Big Story'). Based on the victim's public statement and the investigating officer; the victim is not named. Applies to s1.

Event countries: India. Affected-person countries: India. Court countries: Unknown.

The original video was recorded at Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar (Uttarakhand); the victim is a Rajasthan influencer and the complaint is with the cyber-crime police and is investigated by a Rajasthan Police Service officer (Dainik Bhaskar English, Rajasthan edition). No court proceeding.

Reviewed for publication 2026-09-21: Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an AI image-based abuse case with a reported harm (severe distress, withdrawal from public life) stated publicly by the victim and a registered cyber-crime complaint confirmed by the investigating officer. One source read in full; claims recorded as reported. The victim is anonymous in the source and here.

People described

A Rajasthan social-media influencer, a woman whose age is not reported, not named in the report or here

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One depicted person, the influencer who filed the complaint (Dainik Bhaskar English). Exact 1.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#deepfake#ai-generated-video#harassment#influencer#india#rajasthan#haridwar#cyber-crime-complaint

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Rajasthan: a social-media influencer's video of a Ganga dip at Haridwar was manipulated with AI into an objectionable reel that went viral; she says she is mentally disturbed and cannot leave her house, and filed a cyber-crime complaint on 16 September 2026. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-rajasthan-influencer-ganga-dip-ai-deepfake-reel

BibTeX

@misc{2026_rajasthan_influencer_ganga_dip_ai_deepfake_reel,
  title = {Rajasthan: a social-media influencer's video of a Ganga dip at Haridwar was manipulated with AI into an objectionable reel that went viral; she says she is mentally disturbed and cannot leave her house, and filed a cyber-crime complaint on 16 September 2026},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-rajasthan-influencer-ganga-dip-ai-deepfake-reel}
}

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