In a worrying revelation, the viral internet sensation from Assam, Archita Phukan, has been found to be a deepfake creation. The mastermind behind the figure which went viral within a few days was the real Archita Phukan’s ex-boyfriend, Pratim Borah, who has been arrested by the Dibrugarh police. He confessed creating the Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated videos to take revenge on Archita. All this while, the actual Archita Phukan stayed blissfully unaware, leading a private married life.
Fake Archita Phukan went viral on social media as Babydoll Archi, gathering followers with bold content, especially videos and reels that often explored adult themes. It has now been revealed that Borah used AI tools to create the lifelike fake photos and videos of Archita Phukan that remained undetected till a proper cyber investigation was launched by the police. The arrested Pratim Borah has been charged with cybercrime, identity theft, and online harassment.
The scariest part of the entire story is that the fake persona managed not just to fool the general internet users, but even mainstream media which ran stories on her ‘struggles’ in life. After a video featuring fake Archita taking part in the viral transformation trend using the Spanish track ‘Dame Un Gurr’ went viral pushing her into the limelight, followed by another viral photo with professional adult actress Kendra Lust, the media began running stories on her.
The fake stories of her struggle during her ‘difficult past,’ where she was supposedly forced into prostitution for six years, were lapped up by media. She was glorified as a survivor who inspired many. Things reached such stage that even her change of name on her Instagram account was headlined – All these being nothing but Pratim Borah’s imagination at work to exact revenge on his ex-girlfriend.
The threat of AI deepfakes has reached proportions where it can now not only threaten reputation but also a person’s identity. If a common person like Pratim Borah can do this level of damage with the AI tools available to him, it is worrisome to imagine what an expert might be able to do.
We have already had instances of celebrities like Rashmika Mandanna, Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone, and others getting targeted with deepfakes, but the situation becomes scarier when a common person like Archita Phukan, leading a private life, becomes a victim. It is also horrifying to think that Pratim Borah’s misuse of AI might inspire others and there might be hundreds of such morphed videos waiting to go viral.
The case of fake Archita Phukan, aka Babydoll Archi, has undeniably proved that AI is no longer a future threat but an existing one. Even as the authorities have launched a deeper probe into the possible misuse of AI for personal revenge after this sensational case, it is high time to strictly regulate the use of AI, especially deepfake tools across all sectors. An entire nation, including its media, being comprehensively and convincingly fooled by an AI-generated persona for this long, rings too many alarms to be ignored.
Bora made a fake social media profile and posted Phukan’s morphed images
Bora was operating the fake profile of Archita Phukan for weeks and has been posting adult content using Phukan’s morphed photos and videos generated with the help of Artificial Intelligence. He admitted to having obtained Phukan’s images from her old social media account and morphed them.
Bora told the police that he uploaded the AI-generated photos and videos to defame and harass Phukan. “During interrogation, the accused said he created the fake account out of anger and emotional frustration following the end of his relationship with the woman,” the officer said. An FIR has been registered against Bora for committing cyber fraud, defamation, identity manipulation, obscenity and invasion of privacy under relevant sections of the BNS and the IT Act.
Phukan’s photos with Lust appeared on the internet in April this year. The photos were posted by a fake social media profile named Babydoll Archi. The profile has been regularly posting Phukan’s morphed images and videos and had gathered a considerable following of over 750 thousand. The fake profile gained attention after a reel showing Phukan with Lust went viral, leaving its followers surprised. The reel garnered millions of views.
A story about Babydoll Archi’s troubled past involving prostitution were also posted from the fake profile. The story mentioned how she “earned” her freedom from prostitution by paying ₹25 lakh.
Soon Phukan’s name appeared in top searches on search engines, and on Monday (7th July), ‘Archita Pukhan video viral Original’ became an active trend on Google Trends. She came to know about the fake profile and pictures through her friends, who came across the morphed videos and images. Subsequently, the authorities were alerted by her brother leading to the nabbing of the culprit.
