Senior Congress leader Harish Rawat lodged an FIR in Dehradun, accusing the BJP of running an AI-generated social media disinformation campaign against him.
Rawat claimed police delayed registering the case for four hours, alleging misuse of AI to target him and a particular community ahead of elections.
The BJP denied links to one of the alleged videos, while Rawat said he will approach election and district authorities.
Harish Rawat Files FIR Over Alleged BJP AI Disinformation Campaign
Former Uttarakhand CM accuses BJP leaders of using AI content to defame him, disrupt social harmony
Summary
Harish Rawat, a senior Congress leader and former chief minister of Uttarakhand, has filed a police case here against the BJP's alleged social media disinformation campaign against him.
On Tuesday, Rawat and his followers arrived at the Nehru Colony police station and gave the officers a written complaint, a pen drive, and further proof.
In light of this, a formal complaint was filed in accordance with the pertinent provisions of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008.
Rawat claimed that it took the police four hours to register his complaint after he filed the FIR. "One can easily imagine the plight of a common man if it takes so long for a former CM to file a FIR," he continued.
"Finally, after four hours, the police registered the FIR with trembling hands. Their hands were trembling because we have accused the BJP president and his associates, with factual evidence, of misusing AI to tarnish our and our party's image and trying to disrupt social harmony by targeting a particular community," Rawat said.
He said, "Just imagine, if the police take so much time to register an FIR of a former CM, what will be the condition of a common man in this state?" He expressed hope that after the registration of the FIR, the police would bring the culprits to justice.
The Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Dehradun and the SSP of the Special Task Force thereafter received copies of the FIR from Rawat. Additionally, Rawat stated that he would present his grievance to the State Election Officer and the Dehradun District Magistrate on Wednesday.
The BJP's official social media page recently posted an AI-generated clip that depicted Rawat as an appeasement enthusiast.
In the reel, a Congress leader is heard saying, "I take refuge in Muslims, I take refuge in dargahs (shrines), I take refuge in love jihad." The subsequent images show the construction of a dargah and some people smiling and talking about turning 'Devbhoomi' (the land of gods) into a land of dargahs.
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At the end of the reel, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is seen walking with the police force and bulldozers.
Rawat also claimed that another AI-generated video was uploaded from a "fake" BJP platform, depicting him as a "traitorous Pakistani agent" engaged in espionage. However, the BJP has denied any connection to this video.
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