Punjab Police & Meta jointly organise workshop on identifying deepfake in cyberspace

In order to sensitise police officers/officials about tools for tackling online misinformation and prevent its spread in public as desired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, the Cyber Crime Division of Punjab Police in association with Meta (Facebook) and representatives of Misinformation Combat Alliance organised a one-day workshop on identifying ‘Deep Fake’ in cyberspace and its potential in creating explicit content and spreading misinformation. The workshop was organised on the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav.

Deep fake is an image, audio or video edited digitally to replace the original with someone else in a way that it makes it look authentic.

Meta along with the Misinformation Combat Alliance (MCA) team discussed various methods to identify, debunk and tackle misinformation on online platforms during the training program, which was attended by over 150 police personnel of various ranks posted in all the districts.  The training focused on building the capacity of Punjab Police in using publicly available tools and resources to defeat misinformation, malformation, disinformation created through Deep Fake.

While participating in the workshop, ADGP Cyber Crime V Neeraja said that the issue of misinformation and Deep Fake is a growing concern for citizens, especially for prominent individuals, celebrities and public figures. “Punjab Police will continue to work with key stakeholders to ensure that Cyber Space remains a safe zone for users and is committed to adopting effective solutions for Deep Fake threats,” she said.

This training will also equip Punjab Police to effectively utilise the power of social media to circulate correct information among citizens, she said, while adding that officers in Punjab are building capacities to adopt innovative techniques to tackle such fake content and disseminate accurate information timely.

DIG Cyber Crime Nilambari V Jagadale said that to curb spread of misinformation/Deep Fake in Cyberspace Space, Rapid Information Communication Network (RICN) has also been created by Punjab Police to make people aware about the modus operandi of Cyber fraudsters.

State Cyber Crime Cell, SAS Nagar, Punjab has also created such accounts on different social media platforms to sensitise people about Cyber security, safe Cyber norms and protection and prevention against various types of Cyber Crimes.