Criticised Shah Rukh Khan, Ranbir Kapoor? Online bullying gets a misogynistic shade with AI

Very few adages have been romanticised as much as lsquoEverything is fair in love and warrsquo In 2024 however it seems to have acquired a new definition for fans of film stars at least virtually Blood stained letters are no longer an extreme expression of obsessionmdashthreatening and humiliating the person who critiqued your idol isAnd AI is happy to helpTechnological advancements are a tool also for the most regressive part of someonersquos psyche As a result women online find themselves at the receiving end of harassment by a celebrityrsquos fans who use AI to sexualise them Almost a month ago a female cinephile logged into her X account and found her photographs morphed on sexuallyexplicit memes and film scenes being circulated by a bunch of accounts What did they have in common All of them were offended by her criticism of Ranbir Kapoorrsquos look leaked from his upcoming film RamayanaEntertainment journalist Samina Shaikh encountered a similar incident when a group of X users who werenrsquot pleased by her social media silence on the trailer release of Shah Rukh Khanrsquos 2023 release Dunki Trolls morphed her images into pornographic content with the help of AI Since SRK is active on X she tagged him repeatedly but it didnrsquot helpldquoItrsquos one thing to be a fan but when admiration turns into harassment and bullying it crosses a linerdquo Alfiya told midday Alfiya an active X user stayed away from social media for a few daysldquoIt was overwhelming and I logged out for a while to protect my mental health During this time I focused on offline activities sought support from friends and family and practiced selfcarerdquo she said She also reported the incident through the official cybercrime reporting portal She is back on social media platforms but she has yet to get any update about her complaintldquoI have filed multiple complaints and even made a post and asked everyone to tag the cybercrime police Their handle MahaCyber1 sent me a private message on X me to say that I register a complaint online which Irsquove already done but have yet to get a responserdquo she sharedSamina Shaikh Saroj Apeksha Saroj and Anubhav BhasinDelhibased lawyer Anubhav Bhasin says there has been a spike in cybercrime cases related to AI and deepfake lately ldquoAI is being misused in general however it can be said that it is more detrimental to a womanrsquos reputation and privacy Online Abuse is rampant and affecting every individualrdquo he saidClinical psychologist Apeksha Saroj says people form such a deep attachment to public figures that an attack on their favourite celebrity is seen as an attack on them ldquoWhen people resonate with the image of a celebrity it becomes aspirational They feel fiercely protective of that image Any word against that image that celebrity is taken personally and they lose any tolerance to criticism and become aggressiverdquo she saysThe targeted harassment against women Saroj believes could be because society has yet not become comfortable with opinionated women ldquoEarlier women didnrsquot voice out their painrdquo she says Now they are vocal about their opinions And it can be seen that people canrsquot tolerate thatrdquo Besides morphing pictures male aggression manifests online in relentless abuse and collective bullying of people using misogyny and a false notion of manhood as tools Saroj says this anger is directly proportional to repression that one harbours ldquoThe unemployment rate is anyway too high in the countryrdquo she says ldquoSo people find the internet an outlet to vent out all this To add to this if they see a YouTuber from their school and surroundings who has gotten popular they feel jealous and that contributes to the aggressionrdquoEntertainment journalist Samina Shaikh encountered a similar incident when a group of X users who werenrsquot pleased by her social media silence on the trailer release of Shah Rukh Khanrsquos 2023 release DunkildquoTrolls morphed my images into pornographic content with the help of AIrdquo she says ldquoSince the actor is active on X I chose to tag him repeatedly but it didnrsquot help Hence I had to take the help of police officials to resolve this matterrdquoWhile she filed a complaint with the Mumbai cybercrime cell the process that followed left her disillusioned ldquoI filed the complaint at a nearby police station It was a threeandhalfhour process with an assurance that the case would be resolved and the culprits would be put behind the bars but nothing of that sort has happened It was an offline as well as online complaint to the Mumbai Police department and Irsquom still following up on this as none of these lsquoNo face no identityrsquo users have been traced by the copsrdquo she sighsAnonymity is the biggest weapon for the accused says Saroj ldquoThere are no repercussions so they do it brazenlyrdquo she says ldquoEven if I morph someonersquos picture and they report me I can make a new profile Itrsquos easy to be brave on the Internet You wouldnrsquot be able to do such a thing in real life because you would face repercussions then and there There needs to be some regulation in place in terms of law as well by social media platformsrdquoSaroj also believes that parents need to monitor their childrenrsquos social media usage so that such behaviours can be caught early on ldquoSo many of these boys who use AI to morph images of women turn out to be minorsrdquo she says ldquoYoungsters tell us they donrsquot like it when their parents keep an eye on them So parents have to tread carefully The right word is monitoring Sensitivity begins at home Parents need to have open conversations with their childrenrdquoSaroj also adds that the youth idolises the idea of fame and doesnrsquot care if itrsquos rooted in ill behaviour ldquoWhen their negative comment on a celebrityrsquos post is highlighted it gives them fame If the celebrity replies to them they get attention and more followsrdquoA celebrity publicist says technology cannot be blamed for inherent misogyny but the easy accessibility of AI has definitely become a tool that fans now weaponise against anyone who criticise their favourite stars ldquoAI definitely has accelerated online bullying but this menace has long been a part of the virtual world The culture of online bullying has grown in the last decaderdquo they said ldquoThe increased Internet accessibility mirrors the negatives of our society as much as the positives Hiding behind the screen brings out the worst in some people and fan culture is the most obvious display of this While online bullying has long prevailed AI has given an impetus to the toxicity Earlier you would write a hateful message or issue threats that soon escalated to the use of Photoshop While Photoshop or morphing imagery needs a specific skill set and time AI does the job in a matter of secondsrdquoThe publicist also shares that many times online fanwars are initiated by movie stars and their teams exploiting fan obsession and churning the angst ldquoPR teams are not necessarily in the loop of daytoday fan warsrdquo they said ldquoThey are only called to action if there is a budding controversy or crisis fuelled by such online wars Depending on the situation they either have to clean it up or build an alternate narrative often using bots to seed comments or via influencer activations Paid trends and polls are also activated to create perceptionrdquoNot all is lost Bhasin says The lawyer who has dealt with many such cases says the law is strict for criminals under The Indian Penal Code IT Act and Representation of Women Act but the challenge remains in nabbing the alleged offenders who use fake accountsldquoOnce the accused is caught she can be punished under the Indian Penal Code IT Act Representation of Women Act etcrdquo he says ldquoIf there is sufficient evidence the law gives enough credence to the victimrsquos statement so it will not be so easy to get away However it is difficult to catch the perpetrators with the limited resources available with the police The offence is committed by an unknown person and tracing the accused becomes a big challenge Technology is ever changing and evolving and cybercrime cells need to evolve with them In such cases I have often been told that the IP address is from another country Therefore identifying and nabbing the accused remains the biggest challenge It will take some time but since law is dynamic it will definitely happen As long as the accused can be identified and caught the law will take its course Unfortunately major changes happen after major events Criminal law was amended after the Delhi gang rape I hope preventive measures are taken before another such major event occursrdquo