Hyderabad Cybercrime Police have registered a criminal case against Meta India head Arun Srinivas and several Facebook and Instagram accounts over the alleged circulation of morphed and AI-generated content targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the recent Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests.
The action follows complaints filed by two individuals who claimed they encountered multiple manipulated videos and images of the Prime Minister while browsing Instagram. According to the complaints, the posts portrayed the Prime Minister in an obscene, derogatory and misleading manner, while the accompanying comments contained offensive language, ridicule and indecent remarks that amplified the reach of the content.
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Police have alleged that the material appeared to have been digitally altered or generated using artificial intelligence before being circulated across social media platforms.
The complainants argued that such content had the potential to mislead the public, spread misinformation, incite hatred, disturb public order and violate provisions of law relating to public decency and defamation. They also alleged that the posts encouraged hostility and wider engagement through abusive comments.
The complaints were filed by S. Aravind Reddy, a 29-year-old businessman, and T. Saikiran Goud, a Telangana BJP activist. Officials said several posts and comments uploaded during the student protests, many of which allegedly bordered on profanity and abuse, have come under scrutiny as part of the investigation.
The latest development comes days after Meta drew criticism from the government when a video posted from Prime Minister Modi’s official account was briefly blocked on Facebook. Following the incident, the company reportedly assured the Centre that it would strengthen safeguards for content related to the Prime Minister.
