Nearly one in four Indians (22 per cent) have said they recently came across political content they later discovered to be deepfake, a new report revealed on Thursday.

According to the cyber security company McAfee, about 75 per cent of Indians have encountered deepfake content, with most concerned about the potential use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered deepfakes for (44 per cent) impersonating public figures, (37 per cent) undermining public trust in media and (31 per cent) influencing elections.

"Recently, India has been witness to an unprecedented surge in cases of deepfake content involving public and private figures. The ease with which AI can manipulate voices and visuals raises critical questions about the authenticity of content, particularly during a critical election year," said Pratim Mukherjee, senior director of engineering, McAfee.

The report surveyed 7,000 consumers globally across the US, UK, France, Germany, Australia, India, and Japan in January and February of this year. Under the potential uses of deepfakes which are concerning, the report found cyberbullying (55 per cent), creating fake pornographic content (52 per cent), facilitating scams (49 per cent), and distorting historical facts (27 per cent).

About 64 per cent said that AI has made it harder for them to spot online scams. Around 57 per cent came across a video, image, or recording of a celebrity and thought it was real, with 31 per cent losing money to a scam. "It's imperative that consumers be cautious and take proactive steps to stay informed and safeguard themselves against misinformation, disinformation and deepfake scams," said Mukherjee.